Mixed mode operations within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications

ABSTRACT

Mixed mode operations within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications. Certain communication systems can include wireless communication devices of various capabilities therein (e.g., IEEE Task Group ac (TGac VHT), IEEE 802.11 amendment TGn, IEEE 802.11 amendment TGa, and/or other capabilities, etc.). In one manner of classification, wireless communication devices having legacy and newer/updated capabilities may inter-operate with one another, operate within a common region, and/or communicate via a common access point (AP). Coordination of such wireless communication devices (e.g., legacy and newer/updated) provides for their respective operation on a same set of clusters in accordance with various operational modes including: (1) time dividing medium access between the wireless communication devices of various capabilities, (2) assigning primary cluster(s) for a first capability set and assigning non-primary cluster(s) for a second capability set, etc., and/or (3) any combination of operational modes (1) and (2).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS/PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No.15/140,858, entitled “Mixed mode operations within multiple user,multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications,” filed Apr. 28,2016, pending, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120 as acontinuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/854,457, entitled“Mixed mode operations within multiple user, multiple access, and/orMIMO wireless communications,” filed Aug. 11, 2010, now abandoned, whichclaims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation-in-part ofU.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/794,712, entitled “Transmissioncoordination within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wirelesscommunications,” filed Jun. 4, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,379,858, whichclaims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/184,431, entitled “WLAN resource allocation usinglong term feedback for simultaneous/nonsimultaneous transmissions,”filed Jun. 5, 2009; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/219,540,entitled “WLAN scheduling and mixed mode operations in OFDMA and/orMU-MIMO transmissions,” filed Jun. 23, 2009, all of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made part of thepresent U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes.

U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/854,457 also claims prioritypursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120, as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 12/817,118, entitled “Scheduled clear to send (CTS)for multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wirelesscommunications,” filed Jun. 16, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,582,485 onNov. 12, 2013, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) toU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/187,326, entitled “Scheduled clearto send for OFDMA multiple access and/or multi-user MIMO WLANtransmissions,” filed Jun. 16, 2009, all of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made part of thepresent U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes.

U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/817,118 also claims prioritypursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120, as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 12/796,654, entitled “Channel characterization andtraining within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wirelesscommunications,” filed Jun. 8, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,526,351 on Sep.3, 2013, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/185,153, entitled “OFDMA cluster parsingand acknowledgement to OFDMA/MU-MIMO transmissions in WLAN device,”filed Jun. 8, 2009; U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/185,161,entitled “WLAN Multi-user/OFDM multiple access training,” filed Jun. 8,2009; U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/186,119, entitled “WLANMulti-user/OFDM multiple access training,” filed Jun. 11, 2009; U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/311,480, entitled “Next generation WLANbackwards compatible sounding frame,” filed Mar. 8, 2010; U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/250,491, entitled “Multi-user multipleinput multiple output preamble,” filed Oct. 9, 2009; U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/255,690, entitled “Multi-user multiple input multipleoutput preamble,” filed Oct. 28, 2009; U.S. Provisional Application No.61/257,323, entitled “Multi-user multiple input multiple outputpreamble,” filed Nov. 2, 2009; U.S. Provisional Application No.61/321,430, entitled “Multi-user multiple input multiple outputpreamble,” filed Apr. 6, 2010; all of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety and made part of the present U.S.Utility patent application for all purposes.

U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/796,654 also claims prioritypursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120, as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 12/794,707, entitled “Cluster parsing for signalingwithin multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wirelesscommunications,” filed Jun. 4, 2010, which claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/184,420,entitled “OFDMA cluster parsing and acknowledgement to OFDMA/MU-MIMOtransmissions in WLAN device,” filed Jun. 5, 2009; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/185,153, entitled “OFDMA cluster parsing andacknowledgement to OFDMA/MU-MIMO transmissions in WLAN device,” filedJun. 8, 2009, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility patentapplication for all purposes.

U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/796,654 also claims prioritypursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120, as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 12/794,711, entitled “Transmission acknowledgementwithin multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wirelesscommunications,” filed Jun. 4, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,498,359 on Jul.30, 2013, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/184,420, entitled “OFDMA cluster parsingand acknowledgement to OFDMA/MU-MIMO transmissions in WLAN device,”filed Jun. 5, 2009; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/185,153,entitled “OFDMA cluster parsing and acknowledgement to OFDMA/MU-MIMOtransmissions in WLAN device,” filed Jun. 8, 2009, all of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made partof the present U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The following U.S. Utility patent applications are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety and are made part of the presentU.S. Utility patent application for all purposes:

1. U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/796,655, entitled “Groupidentification and definition within multiple user, multiple access,and/or MIMO wireless communications,” filed Jun. 8, 2010, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,197,298 on Nov. 24, 2015.

2. U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/821,094, entitled “Mediumaccessing mechanisms within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMOwireless communications,” filed on Jun. 22, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.8,441,975 on May 14, 2013.

The following IEEE standard is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety and is made part of the present U.S. Utility patentapplication for all purposes:

1. IEEE 802.11-2007, “IEEE Standard for Informationtechnology—Telecommunications and information exchange betweensystems—Local and metropolitan area networks—Specific requirements; Part11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY)Specifications,” IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Std 802.11™-2007, (Revisionof IEEE Std 802.11-1999), 1232 pages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to communication systems; and, moreparticularly, it relates to mixed mode operations within multiple user,multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communication systems.

Description of Related Art

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire linedcommunications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, andhence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards.For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordancewith one or more standards including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11x,Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access(CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variationsthereof.

Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wirelesscommunication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, home entertainment equipment, et cetera communicates directlyor indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For directcommunications (also known as point-to-point communications), theparticipating wireless communication devices tune their receivers andtransmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of the pluralityof radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system)and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wirelesscommunications, each wireless communication device communicates directlywith an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or anassociated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wirelessnetwork) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connectionbetween the wireless communication devices, the associated base stationsand/or associated access points communicate with each other directly,via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, viathe Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.

For each wireless communication device to participate in wirelesscommunications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiverand transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g.,a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communicationnetworks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the receiver is coupled to theantenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediatefrequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The lownoise amplifier receives inbound RF signals via the antenna andamplifies them. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix theamplified RF signals with one or more local oscillations to convert theamplified RF signal into baseband signals or intermediate frequency (IF)signals. The filtering stage filters the baseband signals or the IFsignals to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce filteredsignals. The data recovery stage recovers raw data from the filteredsignals in accordance with the particular wireless communicationstandard.

As is also known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, oneor more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The datamodulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals in accordancewith a particular wireless communication standard. The one or moreintermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or morelocal oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifiesthe RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.

Typically, the transmitter will include one antenna for transmitting theRF signals, which are received by a single antenna, or multiple antennae(alternatively, antennas), of a receiver. When the receiver includes twoor more antennae, the receiver will select one of them to receive theincoming RF signals. In this instance, the wireless communicationbetween the transmitter and receiver is a single-output-single-input(SISO) communication, even if the receiver includes multiple antennaethat are used as diversity antennae (i.e., selecting one of them toreceive the incoming RF signals). For SISO wireless communications, atransceiver includes one transmitter and one receiver. Currently, mostwireless local area networks (WLAN) that are IEEE 802.11, 802.11a,802.11b, or 802.11g employ SISO wireless communications.

Other types of wireless communications includesingle-input-multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input-single-output(MISO), and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO). In a SIMO wirelesscommunication, a single transmitter processes data into radio frequencysignals that are transmitted to a receiver. The receiver includes two ormore antennae and two or more receiver paths. Each of the antennaereceives the RF signals and provides them to a corresponding receiverpath (e.g., LNA, down conversion module, filters, and ADCs). Each of thereceiver paths processes the received RF signals to produce digitalsignals, which are combined and then processed to recapture thetransmitted data.

For a multiple-input-single-output (MISO) wireless communication, thetransmitter includes two or more transmission paths (e.g., digital toanalog converter, filters, up-conversion module, and a power amplifier)that each converts a corresponding portion of baseband signals into RFsignals, which are transmitted via corresponding antennae to a receiver.The receiver includes a single receiver path that receives the multipleRF signals from the transmitter. In this instance, the receiver usesbeam forming to combine the multiple RF signals into one signal forprocessing.

For a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication, thetransmitter and receiver each include multiple paths. In such acommunication, the transmitter parallel processes data using a spatialand time encoding function to produce two or more streams of data. Thetransmitter includes multiple transmission paths to convert each streamof data into multiple RF signals. The receiver receives the multiple RFsignals via multiple receiver paths that recapture the streams of datautilizing a spatial and time decoding function. The recaptured streamsof data are combined and subsequently processed to recover the originaldata.

With the various types of wireless communications (e.g., SISO, MISO,SIMO, and MIMO), it would be desirable to use one or more types ofwireless communications to enhance data throughput within a WLAN. Forexample, high data rates can be achieved with MIMO communications incomparison to SISO communications. However, most WLAN include legacywireless communication devices (i.e., devices that are compliant with anolder version of a wireless communication standard). As such, atransmitter capable of MIMO wireless communications should also bebackward compatible with legacy devices to function in a majority ofexisting WLANs.

Therefore, a need exists for a WLAN device that is capable of high datathroughput and is backward compatible with legacy devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operationthat are further described in the following Brief Description of theSeveral Views of the Drawings, the Detailed Description of theInvention, and the claims. Other features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof the invention made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesscommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesscommunication device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a radio frequency (RF)transmitter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an RF receiver.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for basebandprocessing of data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method that furtherdefines Step 120 of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7-9 are diagrams illustrating various embodiments for encoding thescrambled data.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating embodiments of a radiotransmitter.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating embodiments of a radioreceiver.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an access point (AP)and multiple wireless local area network (WLAN) devices operatingaccording to one or more various aspects and/or embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesscommunication device, and clusters, as may be employed for supportingcommunications with at least one additional wireless communicationdevice.

FIG. 14A, FIG. 14B, and FIG. 15 are diagrams illustrating embodiments oftime division of medium access for various wireless communicationdevices corresponding to various capabilities.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of acknowledgements(ACKs) being provided to a transmitting wireless communication device(e.g., an access point (AP)), having at least one (1) front end, andbeing operable in accordance with orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA)/single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO).

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of acknowledgements(ACKs) being provided to a transmitting wireless communication device(e.g., an access point (AP)), having at least two (2) front ends, andbeing operable in accordance with orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA)/single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO).

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of ACKs (some of whichbeing aggregated with data) being provided to a transmitting wirelesscommunication device (e.g., an AP), having four (4) front ends, andbeing operable in accordance with OFDMA/SU-MIMO.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of ACKs (some of whichbeing aggregated with data) being provided to a transmitting wirelesscommunication device (e.g., an AP), having four (4) front ends, andbeing operable in accordance with OFDMA/multi-user multiple inputmultiple output (MU-MIMO).

FIG. 20, FIG. 21, FIG. 22, FIG. 23, FIG. 24, and FIG. 25 are diagramsillustrating embodiments of a transmitting wireless communication deviceusing clear to send to self (CTS2SELF) for adjusting the networkallocation vector (NAV) for various wireless communication devicescorresponding to various capabilities, and in some instances, when oneor more clusters are busy at certain times.

FIG. 26, FIG. 27, and FIG. 28 are diagrams illustrating embodiments ofrequest to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS) exchanges between atransmitting wireless communication device (e.g., an AP), being operablein accordance with OFDMA/SU-MIMO, and various wireless communicationdevices corresponding to various capabilities.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of RTS/CTS exchangesbetween a transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., an AP),being operable in accordance with OFDMA/MU-MIMO, and various wirelesscommunication devices corresponding to various capabilities.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of RTS/CTS exchangesbetween a transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., an AP),being operable in accordance with OFDMA/MU-MIMO and including 3 parallelfront ends, and various wireless communication devices corresponding tovarious capabilities.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of NAV driven clusterreservation.

FIG. 32, FIG. 33, and FIG. 34 are diagrams illustrating embodiments ofcombination of time division of medium access for various wirelesscommunication devices corresponding to various capabilities andincluding simultaneous supporting medium access to wirelesscommunication devices of at least two different capabilities.

FIG. 35, FIG. 36, FIG. 37, and FIG. 38 are diagrams illustratingembodiments of NAV driven cluster reservation in instances where thevarious wireless communication devices all have newer/updatedcapabilities (e.g., TGac).

FIG. 39A, FIG. 39B, FIG. 40A, FIG. 40B, FIG. 41A, FIG. 41B, and FIG. 42are diagrams illustrating various embodiments of methods for operatingone or more wireless communication devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesscommunication system 10 that includes a plurality of base stationsand/or access points 12-16, a plurality of wireless communicationdevices 18-32 and a network hardware component 34. The wirelesscommunication devices 18-32 may be laptop host computers 18 and 26,personal digital assistant hosts 20 and 30, personal computer hosts 24and 32 and/or cellular telephone hosts 22 and 28. The details of anembodiment of such wireless communication devices is described ingreater detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The base stations (BSs) or access points (APs) 12-16 are operablycoupled to the network hardware 34 via local area network connections36, 38 and 40. The network hardware 34, which may be a router, switch,bridge, modem, system controller, et cetera provides a wide area networkconnection 42 for the communication system 10. Each of the base stationsor access points 12-16 has an associated antenna or antenna array tocommunicate with the wireless communication devices in its area.Typically, the wireless communication devices register with a particularbase station or access point 12-14 to receive services from thecommunication system 10. For direct connections (i.e., point-to-pointcommunications), wireless communication devices communicate directly viaan allocated channel.

Typically, base stations are used for cellular telephone systems (e.g.,advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system formobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), localmulti-point distribution systems (LMDS), multi-channel-multi-pointdistribution systems (MMDS), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), high-speed downlink packetaccess (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA and/or variationsthereof) and like-type systems, while access points are used for in-homeor in-building wireless networks (e.g., IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, ZigBee,any other type of radio frequency based network protocol and/orvariations thereof). Regardless of the particular type of communicationsystem, each wireless communication device includes a built-in radioand/or is coupled to a radio. Such wireless communication devices mayoperate in accordance with the various aspects of the invention aspresented herein to enhance performance, reduce costs, reduce size,and/or enhance broadband applications.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesscommunication device that includes the host device 18-32 and anassociated radio 60. For cellular telephone hosts, the radio 60 is abuilt-in component. For personal digital assistants hosts, laptop hosts,and/or personal computer hosts, the radio 60 may be built-in or anexternally coupled component. For access points or base stations, thecomponents are typically housed in a single structure.

As illustrated, the host device 18-32 includes a processing module 50,memory 52, radio interface 54, input interface 58 and output interface56. The processing module 50 and memory 52 execute the correspondinginstructions that are typically done by the host device. For example,for a cellular telephone host device, the processing module 50 performsthe corresponding communication functions in accordance with aparticular cellular telephone standard.

The radio interface 54 allows data to be received from and sent to theradio 60. For data received from the radio 60 (e.g., inbound data), theradio interface 54 provides the data to the processing module 50 forfurther processing and/or routing to the output interface 56. The outputinterface 56 provides connectivity to an output display device such as adisplay, monitor, speakers, et cetera such that the received data may bedisplayed. The radio interface 54 also provides data from the processingmodule 50 to the radio 60. The processing module 50 may receive theoutbound data from an input device such as a keyboard, keypad,microphone, et cetera via the input interface 58 or generate the dataitself. For data received via the input interface 58, the processingmodule 50 may perform a corresponding host function on the data and/orroute it to the radio 60 via the radio interface 54.

Radio 60 includes a host interface 62, a baseband processing module 64,memory 66, a plurality of radio frequency (RF) transmitters 68-72, atransmit/receive (T/R) module 74, a plurality of antennae 82-86, aplurality of RF receivers 76-80, and a local oscillation module 100. Thebaseband processing module 64, in combination with operationalinstructions stored in memory 66, execute digital receiver functions anddigital transmitter functions, respectively. The digital receiverfunctions, as will be described in greater detail with reference to FIG.11B, include, but are not limited to, digital intermediate frequency tobaseband conversion, demodulation, constellation demapping, decoding,de-interleaving, fast Fourier transform, cyclic prefix removal, spaceand time decoding, and/or descrambling. The digital transmitterfunctions, as will be described in greater detail with reference tolater Figures, include, but are not limited to, scrambling, encoding,interleaving, constellation mapping, modulation, inverse fast Fouriertransform, cyclic prefix addition, space and time encoding, and/ordigital baseband to IF conversion. The baseband processing modules 64may be implemented using one or more processing devices. Such aprocessing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on operationalinstructions. The memory 66 may be a single memory device or a pluralityof memory devices. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, and/or any device that storesdigital information. Note that when the processing module 64 implementsone or more of its functions via a state machine, analog circuitry,digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory storing thecorresponding operational instructions is embedded with the circuitrycomprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry.

In operation, the radio 60 receives outbound data 88 from the hostdevice via the host interface 62. The baseband processing module 64receives the outbound data 88 and, based on a mode selection signal 102,produces one or more outbound symbol streams 90. The mode selectionsignal 102 will indicate a particular mode as are illustrated in themode selection tables, which appear at the end of the detaileddiscussion. For example, the mode selection signal 102, with referenceto table 1 may indicate a frequency band of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, a channelbandwidth of 20 or 22 MHz (e.g., channels of 20 or 22 MHz width) and amaximum bit rate of 54 megabits-per-second. In other embodiments, thechannel bandwidth may extend up to 1.28 GHz or wider with supportedmaximum bit rates extending to 1 gigabit-per-second or greater. In thisgeneral category, the mode selection signal will further indicate aparticular rate ranging from 1 megabit-per-second to 54megabits-per-second. In addition, the mode selection signal willindicate a particular type of modulation, which includes, but is notlimited to, Barker Code Modulation, BPSK, QPSK, CCK, 16 QAM and/or 64QAM. As is further illustrated in table 1, a code rate is supplied aswell as number of coded bits per subcarrier (NBPSC), coded bits per OFDMsymbol (NCBPS), data bits per OFDM symbol (NDBPS).

The mode selection signal may also indicate a particular channelizationfor the corresponding mode which for the information in table 1 isillustrated in table 2. As shown, table 2 includes a channel number andcorresponding center frequency. The mode select signal may furtherindicate a power spectral density mask value which for table 1 isillustrated in table 3. The mode select signal may alternativelyindicate rates within table 4 that has a 5 GHz frequency band, 20 MHzchannel bandwidth and a maximum bit rate of 54 megabits-per-second. Ifthis is the particular mode select, the channelization is illustrated intable 5. As a further alternative, the mode select signal 102 mayindicate a 2.4 GHz frequency band, 20 MHz channels and a maximum bitrate of 192 megabits-per-second as illustrated in table 6. In table 6, anumber of antennae may be utilized to achieve the higher bit rates. Inthis instance, the mode select would further indicate the number ofantennae to be utilized. Table 7 illustrates the channelization for theset-up of table 6. Table 8 illustrates yet another mode option where thefrequency band is 2.4 GHz, the channel bandwidth is 20 MHz and themaximum bit rate is 192 megabits-per-second. The corresponding table 8includes various bit rates ranging from 12 megabits-per-second to 216megabits-per-second utilizing 2-4 antennae and a spatial time encodingrate as indicated. Table 9 illustrates the channelization for table 8.The mode select signal 102 may further indicate a particular operatingmode as illustrated in table 10, which corresponds to a 5 GHz frequencyband having 40 MHz frequency band having 40 MHz channels and a maximumbit rate of 486 megabits-per-second. As shown in table 10, the bit ratemay range from 13.5 megabits-per-second to 486 megabits-per-secondutilizing 1-4 antennae and a corresponding spatial time code rate. Table10 further illustrates a particular modulation scheme code rate andNBPSC values. Table 11 provides the power spectral density mask fortable 10 and table 12 provides the channelization for table 10.

It is of course noted that other types of channels, having differentbandwidths, may be employed in other embodiments without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the invention. For example, various otherchannels such as those having 80 MHz, 120 MHz, and/or 160 MHz ofbandwidth may alternatively be employed such as in accordance with IEEETask Group ac (TGac VHT).

The baseband processing module 64, based on the mode selection signal102 produces the one or more outbound symbol streams 90, as will befurther described with reference to FIGS. 5-9 from the output data 88.For example, if the mode selection signal 102 indicates that a singletransmit antenna is being utilized for the particular mode that has beenselected, the baseband processing module 64 will produce a singleoutbound symbol stream 90. Alternatively, if the mode select signalindicates 2, 3 or 4 antennae, the baseband processing module 64 willproduce 2, 3 or 4 outbound symbol streams 90 corresponding to the numberof antennae from the output data 88.

Depending on the number of outbound streams 90 produced by the basebandmodule 64, a corresponding number of the RF transmitters 68-72 will beenabled to convert the outbound symbol streams 90 into outbound RFsignals 92. The implementation of the RF transmitters 68-72 will befurther described with reference to FIG. 3. The transmit/receive module74 receives the outbound RF signals 92 and provides each outbound RFsignal to a corresponding antenna 82-86.

When the radio 60 is in the receive mode, the transmit/receive module 74receives one or more inbound RF signals via the antennae 82-86. The T/Rmodule 74 provides the inbound RF signals 94 to one or more RF receivers76-80. The RF receiver 76-80, which will be described in greater detailwith reference to FIG. 4, converts the inbound RF signals 94 into acorresponding number of inbound symbol streams 96. The number of inboundsymbol streams 96 will correspond to the particular mode in which thedata was received (recall that the mode may be any one of the modesillustrated in tables 1-12). The baseband processing module 64 receivesthe inbound symbol streams 90 and converts them into inbound data 98,which is provided to the host device 18-32 via the host interface 62.

In one embodiment of radio 60 it includes a transmitter and a receiver.The transmitter may include a MAC module, a PLCP module, and a PMDmodule. The Medium Access Control (MAC) module, which may be implementedwith the processing module 64, is operably coupled to convert a MACService Data Unit (MSDU) into a MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) inaccordance with a WLAN protocol. The Physical Layer ConvergenceProcedure (PLCP) Module, which may be implemented in the processingmodule 64, is operably coupled to convert the MPDU into a PLCP ProtocolData Unit (PPDU) in accordance with the WLAN protocol. The PhysicalMedium Dependent (PMD) module is operably coupled to convert the PPDUinto a plurality of radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with oneof a plurality of operating modes of the WLAN protocol, wherein theplurality of operating modes includes multiple input and multiple outputcombinations.

An embodiment of the Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) module, which willbe described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B,includes an error protection module, a demultiplexing module, and aplurality of direction conversion modules. The error protection module,which may be implemented in the processing module 64, is operablycoupled to restructure a PPDU (PLCP (Physical Layer ConvergenceProcedure) Protocol Data Unit) to reduce transmission errors producingerror protected data. The demultiplexing module is operably coupled todivide the error protected data into a plurality of error protected datastreams. The plurality of direct conversion modules is operably coupledto convert the plurality of error protected data streams into aplurality of radio frequency (RF) signals.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the wirelesscommunication device of FIG. 2 may be implemented using one or moreintegrated circuits. For example, the host device may be implemented onone integrated circuit, the baseband processing module 64 and memory 66may be implemented on a second integrated circuit, and the remainingcomponents of the radio 60, less the antennae 82-86, may be implementedon a third integrated circuit. As an alternate example, the radio 60 maybe implemented on a single integrated circuit. As yet another example,the processing module 50 of the host device and the baseband processingmodule 64 may be a common processing device implemented on a singleintegrated circuit. Further, the memory 52 and memory 66 may beimplemented on a single integrated circuit and/or on the same integratedcircuit as the common processing modules of processing module 50 and thebaseband processing module 64.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a radio frequency (RF)transmitter 68-72, or RF front-end, of the WLAN transmitter. The RFtransmitter 68-72 includes a digital filter and up-sampling module 75, adigital-to-analog conversion module 77, an analog filter 79, andup-conversion module 81, a power amplifier 83 and a RF filter 85. Thedigital filter and up-sampling module 75 receives one of the outboundsymbol streams 90 and digitally filters it and then up-samples the rateof the symbol streams to a desired rate to produce the filtered symbolstreams 87. The digital-to-analog conversion module 77 converts thefiltered symbols 87 into analog signals 89. The analog signals mayinclude an in-phase component and a quadrature component.

The analog filter 79 filters the analog signals 89 to produce filteredanalog signals 91. The up-conversion module 81, which may include a pairof mixers and a filter, mixes the filtered analog signals 91 with alocal oscillation 93, which is produced by local oscillation module 100,to produce high frequency signals 95. The frequency of the highfrequency signals 95 corresponds to the frequency of the outbound RFsignals 92.

The power amplifier 83 amplifies the high frequency signals 95 toproduce amplified high frequency signals 97. The RF filter 85, which maybe a high frequency band-pass filter, filters the amplified highfrequency signals 97 to produce the desired output RF signals 92.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, each of the radiofrequency transmitters 68-72 will include a similar architecture asillustrated in FIG. 3 and further include a shut-down mechanism suchthat when the particular radio frequency transmitter is not required, itis disabled in such a manner that it does not produce interferingsignals and/or noise.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an RF receiver. Thismay depict any one of the RF receivers 76-80. In this embodiment, eachof the RF receivers 76-80 includes an RF filter 101, a low noiseamplifier (LNA) 103, a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) 105, adown-conversion module 107, an analog filter 109, an analog-to-digitalconversion module 111 and a digital filter and down-sampling module 113.The RF filter 101, which may be a high frequency band-pass filter,receives the inbound RF signals 94 and filters them to produce filteredinbound RF signals. The low noise amplifier 103 amplifies the filteredinbound RF signals 94 based on a gain setting and provides the amplifiedsignals to the programmable gain amplifier 105. The programmable gainamplifier further amplifies the inbound RF signals 94 before providingthem to the down-conversion module 107.

The down-conversion module 107 includes a pair of mixers, a summationmodule, and a filter to mix the inbound RF signals with a localoscillation (LO) that is provided by the local oscillation module toproduce analog baseband signals. The analog filter 109 filters theanalog baseband signals and provides them to the analog-to-digitalconversion module 111 which converts them into a digital signal. Thedigital filter and down-sampling module 113 filters the digital signalsand then adjusts the sampling rate to produce the digital samples(corresponding to the inbound symbol streams 96).

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for basebandprocessing of data. This diagram shows a method for converting outbounddata 88 into one or more outbound symbol streams 90 by the basebandprocessing module 64. The process begins at Step 110 where the basebandprocessing module receives the outbound data 88 and a mode selectionsignal 102. The mode selection signal may indicate any one of thevarious modes of operation as indicated in tables 1-12. The process thenproceeds to Step 112 where the baseband processing module scrambles thedata in accordance with a pseudo random sequence to produce scrambleddata. Note that the pseudo random sequence may be generated from afeedback shift register with the generator polynomial of S(x)=x⁷+x⁴+1.

The process then proceeds to Step 114 where the baseband processingmodule selects one of a plurality of encoding modes based on the modeselection signal. The process then proceeds to Step 116 where thebaseband processing module encodes the scrambled data in accordance witha selected encoding mode to produce encoded data. The encoding may bedone utilizing any one or more a variety of coding schemes (e.g.,convolutional coding, Reed-Solomon (RS) coding, turbo coding, turbotrellis coded modulation (TTCM) coding, LDPC (Low Density Parity Check)coding, etc.).

The process then proceeds to Step 118 where the baseband processingmodule determines a number of transmit streams based on the mode selectsignal. For example, the mode select signal will select a particularmode which indicates that 1, 2, 3, 4 or more antennae may be utilizedfor the transmission. Accordingly, the number of transmit streams willcorrespond to the number of antennae indicated by the mode selectsignal. The process then proceeds to Step 120 where the basebandprocessing module converts the encoded data into streams of symbols inaccordance with the number of transmit streams in the mode selectsignal. This step will be described in greater detail with reference toFIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method that furtherdefines Step 120 of FIG. 5. This diagram shows a method performed by thebaseband processing module to convert the encoded data into streams ofsymbols in accordance with the number of transmit streams and the modeselect signal. Such processing begins at Step 122 where the basebandprocessing module interleaves the encoded data over multiple symbols andsubcarriers of a channel to produce interleaved data. In general, theinterleaving process is designed to spread the encoded data overmultiple symbols and transmit streams. This allows improved detectionand error correction capability at the receiver. In one embodiment, theinterleaving process will follow the IEEE 802.11(a) or (g) standard forbackward compatible modes. For higher performance modes (e.g., IEEE802.11(n), the interleaving will also be done over multiple transmitpaths or streams.

The process then proceeds to Step 124 where the baseband processingmodule demultiplexes the interleaved data into a number of parallelstreams of interleaved data. The number of parallel streams correspondsto the number of transmit streams, which in turn corresponds to thenumber of antennae indicated by the particular mode being utilized. Theprocess then continues to Steps 126 and 128, where for each of theparallel streams of interleaved data, the baseband processing modulemaps the interleaved data into a quadrature amplitude modulated (QAM)symbol to produce frequency domain symbols at Step 126. At Step 128, thebaseband processing module converts the frequency domain symbols intotime domain symbols, which may be done utilizing an inverse fast Fouriertransform. The conversion of the frequency domain symbols into the timedomain symbols may further include adding a cyclic prefix to allowremoval of intersymbol interference at the receiver. Note that thelength of the inverse fast Fourier transform and cyclic prefix aredefined in the mode tables of tables 1-12. In general, a 64-pointinverse fast Fourier transform is employed for 20 MHz channels and128-point inverse fast Fourier transform is employed for 40 MHzchannels.

The process then proceeds to Step 130 where the baseband processingmodule space and time encodes the time domain symbols for each of theparallel streams of interleaved data to produce the streams of symbols.In one embodiment, the space and time encoding may be done by space andtime encoding the time domain symbols of the parallel streams ofinterleaved data into a corresponding number of streams of symbolsutilizing an encoding matrix. Alternatively, the space and time encodingmay be done by space and time encoding the time domain symbols ofM-parallel streams of interleaved data into P-streams of symbolsutilizing the encoding matrix, where P=2M. In one embodiment theencoding matrix may comprise a form of:

$\quad\begin{bmatrix}C_{1} & C_{2} & C_{3} & C_{4} & \Lambda & C_{{2\; M} - 1} & C_{2\; M} \\{- C_{2}^{*}} & C_{1}^{*} & {- C_{4}^{*}} & C_{3}^{*} & \Lambda & {- C_{2\; M}^{*}} & C_{{2\; M} - 1}\end{bmatrix}$The number of rows of the encoding matrix corresponds to M and thenumber of columns of the encoding matrix corresponds to P. Theparticular symbol values of the constants within the encoding matrix maybe real or imaginary numbers.

FIGS. 7-9 are diagrams illustrating various embodiments for encoding thescrambled data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of one method that may be utilized by the basebandprocessing module to encode the scrambled data at Step 116 of FIG. 5. Inthis method, the encoding of FIG. 7 may include an optional Step 144where the baseband processing module may optionally perform encodingwith an outer Reed-Solomon (RS) code to produce RS encoded data. It isnoted that Step 144 may be conducted in parallel with Step 140 describedbelow.

Also, the process continues at Step 140 where the baseband processingmodule performs a convolutional encoding with a 64 state code andgenerator polynomials of G₀=133₈ and G₁=171₈ on the scrambled data (thatmay or may not have undergone RS encoding) to produce convolutionalencoded data. The process then proceeds to Step 142 where the basebandprocessing module punctures the convolutional encoded data at one of aplurality of rates in accordance with the mode selection signal toproduce the encoded data. Note that the puncture rates may include 1/2,2/3 and/or 3/4, or any rate as specified in tables 1-12. Note that, fora particular, mode, the rate may be selected for backward compatibilitywith IEEE 802.11(a), IEEE 802.11(g), or IEEE 802.11(n) raterequirements.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of another encoding method that may be utilized bythe baseband processing module to encode the scrambled data at Step 116of FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the encoding of FIG. 8 may include anoptional Step 148 where the baseband processing module may optionallyperform encoding with an outer RS code to produce RS encoded data. It isnoted that Step 148 may be conducted in parallel with Step 146 describedbelow.

The method then continues at Step 146 where the baseband processingmodule encodes the scrambled data (that may or may not have undergone RSencoding) in accordance with a complimentary code keying (CCK) code toproduce the encoded data. This may be done in accordance with IEEE802.11(b) specifications, IEEE 802.11(g), and/or IEEE 802.11(n)specifications.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of yet another method for encoding the scrambleddata at Step 116, which may be performed by the baseband processingmodule. In this embodiment, the encoding of FIG. 9 may include anoptional Step 154 where the baseband processing module may optionallyperform encoding with an outer RS code to produce RS encoded data.

Then, in some embodiments, the process continues at Step 150 where thebaseband processing module performs LDPC (Low Density Parity Check)coding on the scrambled data (that may or may not have undergone RSencoding) to produce LDPC coded bits. Alternatively, the Step 150 mayoperate by performing convolutional encoding with a 256 state code andgenerator polynomials of G₀=561₈ and G₁=753₈ on the scrambled data thescrambled data (that may or may not have undergone RS encoding) toproduce convolutional encoded data. The process then proceeds to Step152 where the baseband processing module punctures the convolutionalencoded data at one of the plurality of rates in accordance with a modeselection signal to produce encoded data. Note that the puncture rate isindicated in the tables 1-12 for the corresponding mode.

The encoding of FIG. 9 may further include the optional Step 154 wherethe baseband processing module combines the convolutional encoding withan outer Reed Solomon code to produce the convolutional encoded data.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating embodiments of a radiotransmitter. This may involve the PMD module of a WLAN transmitter. InFIG. 10A, the baseband processing is shown to include a scrambler 172,channel encoder 174, interleaver 176, demultiplexer 170, a plurality ofsymbol mappers 180-184, a plurality of inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT)/cyclic prefix addition modules 186-190 and a space/time encoder192. The baseband portion of the transmitter may further include a modemanager module 175 that receives the mode selection signal 173 andproduces settings 179 for the radio transmitter portion and produces therate selection 171 for the baseband portion. In this embodiment, thescrambler 172, the channel encoder 174, and the interleaver 176 comprisean error protection module. The symbol mappers 180-184, the plurality ofIFFT/cyclic prefix modules 186-190, the space time encoder 192 comprisea portion of the digital baseband processing module.

In operations, the scrambler 172 adds (e.g., in a Galois Finite Field(GF2)) a pseudo random sequence to the outbound data bits 88 to make thedata appear random. A pseudo random sequence may be generated from afeedback shift register with the generator polynomial of S(x)=x⁷+x⁴+1 toproduce scrambled data. The channel encoder 174 receives the scrambleddata and generates a new sequence of bits with redundancy. This willenable improved detection at the receiver. The channel encoder 174 mayoperate in one of a plurality of modes. For example, for backwardcompatibility with IEEE 802.11(a) and IEEE 802.11(g), the channelencoder has the form of a rate 1/2 convolutional encoder with 64 statesand a generator polynomials of G₀=133₈ and G₁=171₈. The output of theconvolutional encoder may be punctured to rates of 1/2, 2/3, and 3/4according to the specified rate tables (e.g., tables 1-12). For backwardcompatibility with IEEE 802.11(b) and the CCK modes of IEEE 802.11(g),the channel encoder has the form of a CCK code as defined in IEEE802.11(b). For higher data rates (such as those illustrated in tables 6,8 and 10), the channel encoder may use the same convolution encoding asdescribed above or it may use a more powerful code, including aconvolutional code with more states, any one or more of the varioustypes of error correction codes (ECCs) mentioned above (e.g., RS, LDPC,turbo, TTCM, etc.) a parallel concatenated (turbo) code and/or a lowdensity parity check (LDPC) block code. Further, any one of these codesmay be combined with an outer Reed Solomon code. Based on a balancing ofperformance, backward compatibility and low latency, one or more ofthese codes may be optimal. Note that the concatenated turbo encodingand low density parity check will be described in greater detail withreference to subsequent Figures.

The interleaver 176 receives the encoded data and spreads it overmultiple symbols and transmit streams. This allows improved detectionand error correction capabilities at the receiver. In one embodiment,the interleaver 176 will follow the IEEE 802.11(a) or (g) standard inthe backward compatible modes. For higher performance modes (e.g., suchas those illustrated in tables 6, 8 and 10), the interleaver willinterleave data over multiple transmit streams. The demultiplexer 170converts the serial interleave stream from interleaver 176 intoM-parallel streams for transmission.

Each symbol mapper 180-184 receives a corresponding one of theM-parallel paths of data from the demultiplexer. Each symbol mapper180-182 lock maps bit streams to quadrature amplitude modulated QAMsymbols (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, 256 QAM, et cetera) accordingto the rate tables (e.g., tables 1-12). For IEEE 802.11(a) backwardcompatibility, double Gray coding may be used.

The map symbols produced by each of the symbol mappers 180-184 areprovided to the IFFT/cyclic prefix addition modules 186-190, whichperforms frequency domain to time domain conversions and adds a prefix,which allows removal of inter-symbol interference at the receiver. Notethat the length of the IFFT and cyclic prefix are defined in the modetables of tables 1-12. In general, a 64-point IFFT will be used for 20MHz channels and 128-point IFFT will be used for 40 MHz channels.

The space/time encoder 192 receives the M-parallel paths of time domainsymbols and converts them into P-output symbols. In one embodiment, thenumber of M-input paths will equal the number of P-output paths. Inanother embodiment, the number of output paths P will equal 2M paths.For each of the paths, the space/time encoder multiples the inputsymbols with an encoding matrix that has the form of

$\quad{\begin{bmatrix}C_{1} & C_{2} & C_{3} & C_{4} & \Lambda & C_{{2\; M} - 1} & C_{2\; M} \\{- C_{2}^{*}} & C_{1}^{*} & {- C_{4}^{*}} & C_{3}^{*} & \Lambda & {- C_{2\; M}^{*}} & C_{{2\; M} - 1}\end{bmatrix}.}$

The rows of the encoding matrix correspond to the number of input pathsand the columns correspond to the number of output paths.

FIG. 10B illustrates the radio portion of the transmitter that includesa plurality of digital filter/up-sampling modules 194-198,digital-to-analog conversion modules 200-204, analog filters 206-216, FQmodulators 218-222, RF amplifiers 224-228, RF filters 230-234 andantennae 236-240. The P-outputs from the space/time encoder 192 arereceived by respective digital filtering/up-sampling modules 194-198. Inone embodiment, the digital filters/up sampling modules 194-198 are partof the digital baseband processing module and the remaining componentscomprise the plurality of RF front-ends. In such an embodiment, thedigital baseband processing module and the RF front end comprise adirect conversion module.

In operation, the number of radio paths that are active correspond tothe number of P-outputs. For example, if only one P-output path isgenerated, only one of the radio transmitter paths will be active. Asone of average skill in the art will appreciate, the number of outputpaths may range from one to any desired number.

The digital filtering/up-sampling modules 194-198 filter thecorresponding symbols and adjust the sampling rates to correspond withthe desired sampling rates of the digital-to-analog conversion modules200-204. The digital-to-analog conversion modules 200-204 convert thedigital filtered and up-sampled signals into corresponding in-phase andquadrature analog signals. The analog filters 206-214 filter thecorresponding in-phase and/or quadrature components of the analogsignals, and provide the filtered signals to the corresponding FQmodulators 218-222. The FQ modulators 218-222 based on a localoscillation, which is produced by a local oscillator 100, up-convertsthe FQ signals into radio frequency signals.

The RF amplifiers 224-228 amplify the RF signals which are thensubsequently filtered via RF filters 230-234 before being transmittedvia antennae 236-240.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating embodiments of a radioreceiver (as shown by reference numeral 250). These diagrams illustratea schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a receiver. FIG. 11Aillustrates the analog portion of the receiver which includes aplurality of receiver paths. Each receiver path includes an antenna, RFfilters 252-256, low noise amplifiers 258-262, I/Q demodulators 264-268,analog filters 270-280, analog-to-digital converters 282-286 and digitalfilters and down-sampling modules 288-290.

In operation, the antennae receive inbound RF signals, which areband-pass filtered via the RF filters 252-256. The corresponding lownoise amplifiers 258-262 amplify the filtered signals and provide themto the corresponding I/Q demodulators 264-268. The I/Q demodulators264-268, based on a local oscillation, which is produced by localoscillator 100, down-converts the RF signals into baseband in-phase andquadrature analog signals.

The corresponding analog filters 270-280 filter the in-phase andquadrature analog components, respectively. The analog-to-digitalconverters 282-286 convert the in-phase and quadrature analog signalsinto a digital signal. The digital filtering and down-sampling modules288-290 filter the digital signals and adjust the sampling rate tocorrespond to the rate of the baseband processing, which will bedescribed in FIG. 11B.

FIG. 11B illustrates the baseband processing of a receiver. The basebandprocessing includes a space/time decoder 294, a plurality of fastFourier transform (FFT)/cyclic prefix removal modules 296-300, aplurality of symbol demapping modules 302-306, a multiplexer 308, adeinterleaver 310, a channel decoder 312, and a descramble module 314.The baseband processing module may further include a mode managingmodule 175, which produces rate selections 171 and settings 179 based onmode selections 173. The space/time decoding module 294, which performsthe inverse function of space/time encoder 192, receives P-inputs fromthe receiver paths and produce M-output paths. The M-output paths areprocessed via the FFT/cyclic prefix removal modules 296-300 whichperform the inverse function of the IFFT/cyclic prefix addition modules186-190 to produce frequency domain symbols.

The symbol demapping modules 302-306 convert the frequency domainsymbols into data utilizing an inverse process of the symbol mappers180-184. The multiplexer 308 combines the demapped symbol streams into asingle path.

The deinterleaver 310 deinterleaves the single path utilizing an inversefunction of the function performed by interleaver 176. The deinterleaveddata is then provided to the channel decoder 312 which performs theinverse function of channel encoder 174. The descrambler 314 receivesthe decoded data and performs the inverse function of scrambler 172 toproduce the inbound data 98.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an access point (AP)and multiple wireless local area network (WLAN) devices operatingaccording to one or more various aspects and/or embodiments of theinvention. The AP point 1200 may compatible with any number ofcommunication protocols and/or standards, e.g., IEEE 802.11(a), IEEE802.11(b), IEEE 802.11(g), IEEE 802.11(n), as well as in accordance withvarious aspects of invention. According to certain aspects of thepresent invention, the AP supports backwards compatibility with priorversions of the IEEE 802.11x standards as well. According to otheraspects of the present invention, the AP 1200 supports communicationswith the WLAN devices 1202, 1204, and 1206 with channel bandwidths, MIMOdimensions, and at data throughput rates unsupported by the prior IEEE802.11x operating standards. For example, the access point 1200 and WLANdevices 1202, 1204, and 1206 may support channel bandwidths from thoseof prior version devices and from 40 MHz to 1.28 GHz and above. Theaccess point 1200 and WLAN devices 1202, 1204, and 1206 support MIMOdimensions to 4×4 and greater. With these characteristics, the accesspoint 1200 and WLAN devices 1202, 1204, and 1206 may support datathroughput rates to 1 GHz and above.

The AP 1200 supports simultaneous communications with more than one ofthe WLAN devices 1202, 1204, and 1206. Simultaneous communications maybe serviced via OFDM tone allocations (e.g., certain number of OFDMtones in a given cluster), MIMO dimension multiplexing, or via othertechniques. With some simultaneous communications, the AP 1200 mayallocate one or more of the multiple antennae thereof respectively tosupport communication with each WLAN device 1202, 1204, and 1206, forexample.

Further, the AP 1200 and WLAN devices 1202, 1204, and 1206 are backwardscompatible with the IEEE 802.11 (a), (b), (g), and (n) operatingstandards. In supporting such backwards compatibility, these devicessupport signal formats and structures that are consistent with theseprior operating standards.

Generally, communications as described herein may be targeted forreception by a single receiver or for multiple individual receivers(e.g. via multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO), and/orOFDMA transmissions, which are different than single transmissions witha multi-receiver address). For example, a single OFDMA transmission usesdifferent tones or sets of tones (e.g., clusters or channels) to senddistinct sets of information, each set of set of information transmittedto one or more receivers simultaneously in the time domain. Again, anOFDMA transmission sent to one user is equivalent to an OFDMtransmission. A single MU-MIMO transmission may includespatially-diverse signals over a common set of tones, each containingdistinct information and each transmitted to one or more distinctreceivers. Some single transmissions may be a combination of OFDMA andMU-MIMO. MIMO transceivers illustrated may include SISO, SIMO, and MISOtransceivers. The clusters employed for such communications may becontinuous (e.g., adjacent to one another) or discontinuous (e.g.,separated by a guard interval of band gap). Transmissions on differentOFDMA clusters may be simultaneous or non-simultaneous. Such wirelesscommunication devices as described herein may be capable of supportingcommunications via a single cluster or any combination thereof. Legacyusers and new version users (e.g., TGac MU-MIMO, OFDMA, MU-MIMO/OFDMA,etc.) may share bandwidth at a given time or they can be scheduled atdifferent times for certain embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wirelesscommunication device, and clusters, as may be employed for supportingcommunications with at least one additional wireless communicationdevice. Generally speaking, a cluster may be viewed as a depiction ofthe mapping of tones, such as for an OFDM symbol, within or among one ormore channels (e.g., sub-divided portions of the spectrum) that may besituated in one or more bands (e.g., portions of the spectrum separatedby relatively larger amounts). As an example, various channels of 20 MHzmay be situated within or centered around a 5 GHz band. The channelswithin any such band may be continuous (e.g., adjacent to one another)or discontinuous (e.g., separated by some guard interval or band gap).Oftentimes, one or more channels may be situated within a given band,and different bands need not necessarily have a same number of channelstherein. Again, a cluster may generally be understood as any combinationone or more channels among one or more bands.

The wireless communication device of this diagram may be of any of thevarious types and/or equivalents described herein (e.g., AP, WLANdevice, or other wireless communication device including, though notlimited to, any of those depicted in FIG. 1, etc.). The wirelesscommunication device includes multiple antennae from which one or moresignals may be transmitted to one or more receiving wirelesscommunication devices and/or received from one or more other wirelesscommunication devices.

Such clusters may be used for transmissions of signals via various oneor more selected antennae. For example, different clusters are shown asbeing used to transmit signals respectively using different one or moreantennae.

When operating certain wireless communication systems, sometimes thewireless communication devices therein may have different capabilities.For example, certain wireless communication devices having a firstcapability (e.g., TGn, such as those operative in compliance with therecommended practices and/or standards IEEE amendment TGn) and otherwireless communication devices having a second capability (e.g., TGac,such as those operative in compliance with the recommended practicesand/or standards of the IEEE Task Group ac (TGac VHT)) may be operativewithin a common vicinity. In such instances, coordination must be madeto ensure proper operation of the different types of wirelesscommunication devices and the protocols, standards, and meaner ofoperation of them all. Such operation of a wireless communicationsystem, including various wireless communication devices of variouscapabilities, may generally be referred to as being a mixed modewireless communication system. Such mixed operation may generally bereferred to as a condition where wireless communication devices havingcapability associated with MU-MIMO/OFDMA, MU-MIMO, OFDMA, etc. areoperating on the same set of clusters (e.g., channels within one or morebands) as wireless communication devices that do not have suchmulti-user related capability (e.g., legacy devices, such as TGn and/orTGa wireless communication devices).

Various novel means of operational and associated mechanisms arepresented herein by which such mixed mode operation may be made. In afirst embodiment (case 1), access to the medium (e.g., access to one ormore clusters employed) may be effectuated using time division in whichmedium access is time divided among the various types of wirelesscommunication devices. For example, those wireless communication deviceshaving a first capability (e.g., TGac) may be granted medium access atdifferent times than other of the wireless communication devices that donot have such first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa), butinstead have a second (or third) capability. Those wirelesscommunication devices not having such first capability are ensured to beaccessing the medium when those wireless communication devices havingthe first capability are accessing the medium. From certainperspectives, the air time may be generally viewed as being dividedbeing legacy and TGac devices such that the legacy and MU-MIMO/OFDMAenabled wireless communication devices are scheduled access to themedium at different time instances.

In another embodiment (case 2), both wireless communication deviceshaving each of a first capability and a second capability (and/or thirdcapability, etc.) are granted access to the medium simultaneously or atthe same time. Certain aspects of such an operational mode involveassigning at least one primary cluster for use by wireless communicationdevices having such first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa), andthen assigning at least one other cluster (e.g., at least onenon-primary cluster) for use by wireless communication devices havingsuch a second capability (e.g., TGac). As such, the at least one primarycluster may be used for legacy recipients while the non-primary channelsmay be designated for use by the TGac recipients. In certainembodiments, the transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., aMU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter such as an access point (AP)), may choose oneor more of the clusters as being the at least one primary channel (e.g.,designate which cluster(s) is/are the primary clusters). When thetransmitting wireless communication device performs thedesignation/assignment of which of the clusters is/are primary, then ifand when an interferer blocks the primary cluster, then the transmittingwireless communication device may adaptively change which of theclusters are designated as primary.

Also, consideration of which or how many of the clusters are designatedas primary (e.g., for use by the legacy, TGn and/or TGa wirelesscommunication devices) and non-primary may be dependent upon or afunction of the number of devices within the communication systemrespectively having the different capabilities (e.g., how many wirelesscommunication devices have the first capability, how many wirelesscommunication devices have the second capability, etc.). Also,consideration may be made with respect to the traffic associated witheach of the wireless communication devices having the differentcapabilities. Such consideration of such parameters (e.g., number ofwireless communication devices of each type, traffic associated witheach, and/or other parameters, etc.) may be effectuated by atransmitting wireless communication device (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter such as an access point (AP)) within such a wirelesscommunication system. In some embodiments, those wireless communicationdevices having a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) may usea lower set of clusters and those wireless communication devices havinga second capability (e.g., TGac) may use a higher set of clusterschannels in accordance with a division of clusters embodiment.

In yet another embodiment (case 3), wireless communication deviceshaving each of a first capability and a second capability (and/or thirdcapability, etc.) are granted medium access in accordance with anycombination of the case 1 and case 2 described herein. For example, theair time or medium access may be divided into a mixed device intervaland one or more other intervals operable respectively for only thosewireless communication devices having a first capability (e.g., legacy,TGn and/or TGa) and for only those wireless communication devices havinga second capability (e.g., TGac). For example, a first interval may befor operation in accordance with mixed mode operation such that wirelesscommunication devices having both a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGnand/or TGa) and a second capability (e.g., TGac) (and/or additionalcapabilities) may be concurrently operational. A second interval may befor operation in accordance with only those wireless communicationdevices having a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) or onlythose wireless communication devices having a second capability (e.g.,TGac), and/or one other type of capability.

In some instances, one or more wireless communication devices havingsuch a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) and one or morewireless communication devices having such a second capability (e.g.,TGac) may both be assigned to at least one primary cluster. In suchinstances, the one or more wireless communication devices having such afirst capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) typically is givenaccess to the communication medium firstly; then, after a period of time(e.g., predetermined or adaptively determined period of time), the oneor more wireless communication devices having such a second capability(e.g., TGac) is given access to the communication medium secondly. Thisway, the activity of the one or more wireless communication deviceshaving such a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) isessentially invisible to the one or more wireless communication deviceshaving such a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa).

Such an operational mode may be performed as assigning at least oneprimary cluster for use by both the one or more wireless communicationdevices having such a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa)and the one or more wireless communication devices having such a secondcapability (e.g., TGac), and then time dividing medium access such thatthe one or more wireless communication devices having such a secondcapability (e.g., TGac) have medium access after a period of time thatthe one or more wireless communication devices have such a firstcapability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) having medium access.

In a preferred embodiment, a transmission from a transmitting wirelesscommunication device (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmission) and theassociated responses send from the receiving wireless communicationdevices back to the transmitting wireless communication device isideally invisible, on the primary one or more clusters, to thosewireless communication devices that are not capable or operable inaccordance with such newer communication standards and protocols (e.g.,those wireless communication devices having such a capability (e.g.,legacy, TGn and/or TGa)). Moreover, the responses transmitted to thetransmitting wireless communication device (e.g., from the receivingwireless communication devices) should also be sent in a way that doesnot interfere with operational standards, procedure, recommendedpractices, etc. used by those wireless communication devices having sucha capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa)).

In some embodiments, for complexity considerations, performance reasons,and/or other combinations of pooling, mixing or separation (in time orfrequency) of devices may be preferable for some applications.

When operating in accordance with the time division functionality asdescribed herein, the intervals employed for non-legacy wirelesscommunication devices (e.g., TGac), may themselves be divided into oneor more types of intervals. For example, the intervals corresponding tosuch non-legacy wireless communication devices (e.g., TGac) may beoperative in accordance with a MU-MIMO only time interval (e.g., inwhich OFDMA is not used), an OFDMA only time interval (e.g., in whichMU-MIMO is not used), and/or a MU-MIMO/OFDMA time interval (e.g., inwhich both MU-MIMO and OFDMA are used simultaneously).

For such time intervals (e.g., for non-legacy wireless communicationdevices (e.g., TGac)), the entirety of a given time interval may beMU-MIMO only, OFDMA only, or MU-MIMO/OFDMA only. Alternatively, a giventime interval may subdivided into any combination of MU-MIMO only, OFDMAonly, or MU-MIMO/OFDMA only. For example, a first portion of a giventime interval may be for MU-MIMO only, a second portion of that giventime interval may be for OFDMA only, and a third portion of that giventime interval may be for MU-MIMO/OFDMA only, etc. Any combination ofsuch MU-MIMO only, OFDMA only, or MU-MIMO/OFDMA only may be employedamong any one or more time intervals for non-legacy wirelesscommunication devices (e.g., TGac).

Moreover, it is also noted that simultaneous MU-MIMO transmission towireless communication devices having both the first and the secondcapabilities (e.g., TGac and TGn and/or TGa) devices may be possible.For example, such wireless communication devices having both the firstand the second capabilities (e.g., TGac and TGn and/or TGa) devices mayoperate in Greenfield mode. Such operation may also involve applyingbeamforming from a beginning of the packet, such as the beamforming frombeginning of the packet as defined in the IEEE 802.11 amendment TGn forGreenfield transmissions.

Referring again to the first embodiment operational mode (case 1)referenced above that operates in accordance with using time division inwhich medium access is time divided among the various types of wirelesscommunication devices, the medium access time may be divided betweenthose wireless communication devices having a first capability (e.g.,legacy, TGn and/or TGa) and those wireless communication devices havinga second capability (e.g., TGac, MU-MIMO/OFDMA).

The transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter and/or AP) may use a mechanism to take those wirelesscommunication devices not having such capability (e.g., the legacy, TGnand/or TGa wireless communication devices) off of the air and deny themmedium access during certain periods. For example, such a contentionfree period may be used for MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmissions, and may beimplemented by employing the transmission of a multi-user super-frame(MU-SF) from the transmitting wireless communication device to thereceiving wireless communication devices. In other embodiments, quietperiods (e.g., such as may be effectuated using a MU-SF) may be used bya transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) to take those wireless communication devices not havingsuch capability (e.g., the legacy, TGn and/or TGa wireless communicationdevices) off of the air and deny them medium access during certainperiods such as when MU-MIMO/OFDMA forward and reverse transmissions arehappening; such functionality may also be effectuated using a MU-SF fromthe transmitting wireless communication device to the receiving wirelesscommunication devices.

Yet another manner by which those wireless communication devices nothaving such capability (e.g., the legacy, TGn and/or TGa wirelesscommunication devices) may be taken off of the air and denied mediumaccess during certain periods involves employing request to send (RTS)and clear to send (CTS) exchanges (including scheduled CTStransmissions), and/or clear to send to self (CTS2SELF) may be used.Alternatively, other channel reservations may be employed (e.g.,performing medium reservation by performing handshakes between variouswireless communication devices) without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention. Moreover, any such combination of operationemploying such a MU-SF, quiet period, RTS/CTS exchanges, scheduled CTS,CTS2SELF, etc. may be employed to take those wireless communicationdevices not having such capability (e.g., the legacy, TGn and/or TGawireless communication devices) off of the air.

The transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter and/or AP) may also use different cluster accessingmechanisms during those time intervals used for non-legacy wirelesscommunication devices (e.g., TGac). As some examples, scheduled accessmay be used during any one or more of such time intervals for non-legacywireless communication devices (e.g., TGac). Alternatively, carriersense multiple access (CSMA) (or a variant thereof, such as carriersense multiple access (CSMA)/collision avoidance (CA)) may also beemployed during any one or more of such time intervals for non-legacywireless communication devices (e.g., TGac).

Moreover, any such combination of scheduled access, a variant of CSMA,etc. may be employed during those time intervals used for non-legacywireless communication devices (e.g., TGac).

FIG. 14A, FIG. 14B, and FIG. 15 are diagrams illustrating embodiments oftime division of medium access for various wireless communicationdevices corresponding to various capabilities.

Referring to FIG. 14A, various periods of time are divided intointervals for supporting wireless communication devices of variouscapabilities. For example, during a first period (e.g., period 1), afirst time interval (T_(capability set1)) therein coordinates operationsand allows medium access for those wireless communication devices havinga first capability. During this same period (e.g., period 1), a secondtime interval (T_(capability set2)) therein coordinates operations andallows medium access for those wireless communication devices having asecond capability. Other intervals of time may be implemented therein toaccommodate other wireless communication devices having othercapabilities as well. Additional periods (e.g., period 2, period 3,etc.) may be employed that are similar to the first period. In thisembodiment, the various periods include respective intervals therein inthe same order as one another, they are of the same length, andessentially identical to one another.

Referring to FIG. 14B, this embodiment shows various periods havingrespective intervals therein that not necessarily identical to one otheror in the same order within each respective period. In addition, aninterval in one period that allows medium access for those wirelesscommunication devices having a particular capability (e.g.,T_(capability set1) in period 1) is not necessarily in the same locationat such an interval in another period (e.g., T_(capability set1) inperiod 2), and such intervals in different periods need not be of thesame duration in each respective period. A great degree of flexibilityis provided in which any of the period durations, the order of intervalswithin respective periods, the duration of respective intervals withinrespective periods, etc. may be modified as desired in variousapplications.

Referring to FIG. 15, there are various wireless communication devicessuch that some of the wireless communication devices therein have afirst capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) and other of wirelesscommunication devices therein have a second capability (e.g., new,TGac).

For example, during a first period (e.g., period 1), a first timeinterval (T_(new1)) therein coordinates operations and allows mediumaccess for those wireless communication devices having a secondcapability. During this same period (e.g., period 1), a second timeinterval (T_(legacy1)) therein coordinates operations and allows mediumaccess for those wireless communication devices having the firstcapability. During this same period (e.g., period 1), a third timeinterval (T_(new2)) therein coordinates operations and allows mediumaccess for those wireless communication devices having the secondcapability, and fourth time interval (T_(legacy2)) therein coordinatesoperations and allows medium access for those wireless communicationdevices having the first capability, and so on until the end of theperiod.

Other intervals of time may be implemented therein to accommodate otherwireless communication devices having other capabilities as well.Additional periods (e.g., period 2, period 3, etc.) may be employed thatare similar to the first period. In this embodiment shown in thediagram, the various periods include respective intervals therein in thesame order as one another, they are of the same length, and essentiallyidentical to one another. However, it is of course noted that suchintervals in different periods need not be of the same duration in eachrespective period. A great degree of flexibility is provided in whichany of the period durations, the order of intervals within respectiveperiods, the duration of respective intervals within respective periods,etc. may be modified as desired in various applications. Such timeintervals can be ordered in any fashion, the period durations need notbe the same among various periods, and so on.

In certain embodiments, the time intervals T_(new1), T_(new2), etc. arethe time durations for MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmissions, such that wirelesscommunication devices not having such capability (e.g., legacy users) donot transmit during these time intervals, T_(new1), T_(new2), etc. Thetime intervals, T_(legacy1), T_(legacy2), etc. are used for legacytransmissions, such that wireless communication devices that haveMU-MIMO and/or OFDMA capability (e.g., TG_(ac) wireless communicationdevices) may not transmit in accordance with any new TGac formats (e.g.,non-legacy or non-TGn, non-TGa formats) during these time intervals,T_(legacy1), T_(legacy2), etc.

When operating in accordance with a mixed device modem, wirelesscommunication devices corresponding to at least two differentcapabilities operate concurrently and may use the same at least onecluster at the same time. For example, wireless communication devicesoperable in accordance with each of TGac and legacy (e.g., TGn and/orTGa) may share the channel at the same time.

The acknowledgments and the other response frames provide between thevarious legacy wireless communication devices should be transmittedaccording to the respective legacy protocol corresponding. For example,the legacy wireless communication device may transmit the ACK back tothe transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter, AP), DACK, after the transmission is over. Thetransmission, DACK, is determined based on the protocol used by thelegacy wireless communication device.

Various cluster reservation mechanisms may also be employed to avoidinterference between the wireless communication devices corresponding tothe various capabilities (e.g., avoid interference between the legacy(TGn and/or TGa) and TGac wireless communication devices). Some examplesof such cluster reservation mechanism may include RTS/CTS exchanges,scheduled CTS, CTS2SELF, etc. as have been referenced above as well withrespect to taking certain wireless communication devices off of the air.

Channel occupancy indication and channel reservation, when operating acommunication system having various wireless communication devicescorresponding to at least two different capabilities, may becommunicated among the various wireless communication devices in anumber of different ways.

In one embodiment, the transmitting wireless communication device (e.g.,The MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter or AP) may send beacons on all of theclusters being used for transmission so that the receiving wirelesscommunication devices of a particular capability (e.g., legacy, TGnand/or TGa) can recognize the presence of an active basic service set(BSS) on certain clusters. In another embodiment, the transmittingwireless communication device (e.g., the MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter orAP) may use CTS to self (CTS2SELF) to adjust the network allocationvector (NAV) for the receiving wireless communication devices of aparticular capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) during MU-MIMOtransmissions and the corresponding subsequent responses. Moreover,another embodiment could operate such that RTS/CTS or CTS2SELF are usedin combination with transmitting beacons on some or all of the clusters.

In yet another embodiment, RTS/CTS exchanges may be transmitted usingframe formats of that format (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) to protectthe duration of the MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmission and the correspondingsubsequent responses. The duration field on a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmissionmay be used to cover the duration of the MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmission andthe corresponding subsequent responses.

A transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., The MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter or AP) may start transmitting if a given number of clusters(e.g., M clusters, where M is an integer) are available. Various optionsmay be employed for cluster reservation such as described below. Forexample, a transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., TheMU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter or AP) may reserve the clusters (e.g., Mclusters), when they are available. Alternatively, the transmittingwireless communication device may begin reserving the clusters when X(e.g., X≤M, where X is also an integer) channels are available.

In even another embodiment, the transmitting wireless communicationdevice may use the NAV information on the busy clusters to decide if itshould start reserving the IDLE clusters before M clusters are IDLE. Forinstance, if the NAV information (e.g., as has been set based on theprevious packet receptions) indicates that the required M clusters willbe (or are expected to be) IDLE within some period of time (e.g., T₁milli-seconds (ms), then the transmitting wireless communication devicemay start reserving the currently IDLE channels. Such determinations(e.g., the numbers for M and X, the duration or time period of T1, etc.)may be made by the transmitting wireless communication device.

Certain of the following diagrams describe various embodiments by whichcoordination and operation of the wireless communication devices withinthe communication system having such capability to be able to operate inaccordance with newer protocols, standards, and recommended practices(e.g., TGac, MU-MIMO, OFDMA, OFDMA/MU-MIMO/etc.). In a mixed modeenvironment, not all of the wireless communication devices have the samecapability (e.g., some have legacy, TGn and/or TGa capability and othershave TGac capability). As can be seen in many of the embodiments, atleast one primary cluster may be employed in accordance with suchoperation so that those wireless communication devices not havingcapability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) may be made aware of suchoperations.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of acknowledgements(ACKs) being provided to a transmitting wireless communication device(e.g., an access point (AP)), having at least one (1) front end, andbeing operable in accordance with orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA)/single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO). Thetransmitting wireless communication device of FIG. 16 may be operativewith as few as one (1) front end.

It is noted that while many of the embodiments presented herein describewireless communication devices that include more than one front end tofacilitate simultaneous reception of signals, alternative embodimentsmay include a single front end with certain additional radio featuresand corresponding analog to digital converter (ADC) structure such thatthe single front end could operate analogously to multiple front endsfor performing simultaneous reception of signals. For example, a singlefront end could scan across multiple signals on various clusters (e.g.,spending a certain amount of time on each cluster), and effectivelyperform simultaneous reception of signals.

Referring to FIG. 16, while the embodiment of FIG. 16 includes two frontends, the functionality described in this embodiment does notnecessarily require two front ends. Also, with respect to FIG. 16, thewireless communication device operating on the primary cluster (e.g.,STA1) does not have such a capability as to operate in accordance withnewer protocols, standards, and recommended practices (e.g., TGac), andmay generally be referred to as a legacy type wireless communicationdevice (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa). Alternatively, such a STA1 may bea more capable wireless communication device (e.g., TGac), yet operatesonly in accordance with such a prior operational mode (e.g., legacy, TGnand/or TGa). In this diagram, the STA1 (e.g., operating as legacy, TGnand/or TGa) employs the primary cluster 1, and therefore it transmitsits acknowledgement (ACK, which may be a single ACK or a block ACK)after the reception on the primary cluster is over.

Also, the transmitting wireless communication device is STA0, and it isa MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter. The STA1 receives and transmits on theprimary cluster, cluster 1. The STA2 receives on cluster 2, andtransmits on the clusters 1-4. The STA3 receives and transmits on thecluster 3. The STA4 receives and transmits on the cluster 4. Also, theSTA0 and the STA2, STA3, and STA4 all have capability to operate inaccordance with newer protocols, standards, and recommended practices(e.g., TGac). In this embodiment, because the transmitting wirelesscommunication device (STA0) includes two separate radio front-ends, itcan receive two signals simultaneously (e.g., from STA1 and STA4 at onetime, and from STA2 and STA3 at another time).

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of acknowledgements(ACKs) being provided to a transmitting wireless communication device(e.g., an access point (AP)), having at least two (2) front ends, andbeing operable in accordance with orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA)/single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO). Thetransmitting wireless communication device of FIG. 16 may be operativewith as few as two (2) front ends.

Referring to FIG. 17, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that the ACKs or blockACKs are sent back to the transmitting wireless communication device(STA0) from the STA1 and STA4 on clusters 1 and 4 simultaneously,followed by the ACKs or block ACKs are sent back to the transmittingwireless communication device (STA0) from the STA2 and STA3 on clusters2 and 3 simultaneously. Also, as can be seen, because the transmittingwireless communication device (STA0) includes two separate radiofront-ends, it can receive two signals simultaneously (e.g., from STA1and STA4 at one time, and from STA2 and STA3 at another time).

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of ACKs (some of whichbeing aggregated with data) being provided to a transmitting wirelesscommunication device (e.g., an AP), having four (4) front ends, andbeing operable in accordance with OFDMA/SU-MIMO. This diagram issomewhat similar to the previous embodiment with at least one differencebeing that data is aggregated with the ACK or block ACKs that are sentback to the transmitting wireless communication device (STA0). Also, inthis embodiment, the transmitting wireless communication device (STA0)includes four separate radio front-ends, so it can receive four signalssimultaneously (e.g., from STA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4 at the same time).

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of ACKs (some of whichbeing aggregated with data) being provided to a transmitting wirelesscommunication device (e.g., an AP), having four (4) front ends, andbeing operable in accordance with OFDMA/multi-user multiple inputmultiple output (MU-MIMO). This diagram is somewhat similar to theprevious embodiment (e.g., data is aggregated with the ACK or block ACKsthat are sent back to the transmitting wireless communication device(STA0), and the transmitting wireless communication device (STA0)includes four separate radio front-ends, so it can receive four signalssimultaneously). At least some differences in this embodiment are thatthe STA1 is a legacy, TGn and/or TGa wireless communication deviceoperating in Greenfield mode, and the STA2 receives on clusters 1-4, andtransmits on cluster 2. The STA3 receives and transmits on the cluster3, and STA4 receives and transmits on the cluster 4.

As described above, the use of clear to send to self (CTS2SELF) may beemployed in accordance with and performing various functions (e.g.,taking certain wireless communication devices off of the air such as inaccordance with cluster reservation mechanisms, adjusting the networkallocation vector (NAV) for the receiving wireless communication devicesof a particular capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) during MU-MIMOand/or OFDMA transmissions and the corresponding subsequent responses,etc.). In some of the following diagrams, CTS2SELF may be employed toprovide more explicit direction in dealing with those wirelesscommunication devices not operating in accordance with MU-MIMO and/orOFDMA (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) in a mixed mode environment. Fromcertain perspectives, the use of CTS2SELF particularly has a format thatmay be understood by those wireless communication devices (e.g., legacy,TGn and/or TGa).

FIG. 20, FIG. 21, FIG. 22, FIG. 23, FIG. 24, and FIG. 25 are diagramsillustrating embodiments of a transmitting wireless communication deviceusing clear to send to self (CTS2SELF) for adjusting the networkallocation vector (NAV) for various wireless communication devicescorresponding to various capabilities, and in some instances, when oneor more clusters are busy at certain times.

Referring to FIG. 20, in this diagram, the STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) performs the CTS2SELF on all clusters before transmitting aMU-MIMO/OFDMA data transmission and control signal. The STA1 (e.g.,legacy, TGn and/or TGa) wireless communication device operates on theprimary cluster; STA1 receives and transmits on the primary cluster,cluster 1. The STA2 receives on cluster 2, and transmits on the clusters1-4. The STA3 and the STA4 transmits and receives on the clusters 3-4.Also, the STA0 and the STA2, STA3, and STA4 all have capability tooperate in accordance with newer protocols, standards, and recommendedpractices (e.g., TGac).

Referring to FIG. 21, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that certain of theclusters are busy (not idle) and cannot be immediately used. In thediagram, the clusters 1 and 2 are busy, so the STA0 (i.e., thetransmitting wireless communication device, which is a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter or AP) begins reserving the clusters 3 and 4 because theyare available. When clusters 1 and 2 then become available, the STA0reserves and transmits using those clusters. Such operation maygenerally be described as successive cluster reservation and use. STA3is able to receive on clusters 3-4, and STA3 transmits on clusters 1-4.STA1 receives and transmits on cluster 1. The STA2 receives on cluster 2and transmits on clusters 1-4.

Referring to FIG. 22, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment. At least one difference in this embodiment is that the STA3and STA4 are able to receive on clusters 3-4; the STA3 transmits oncluster 3, and STA4 transmits on cluster 4. The STA2 receives on cluster2 and transmits on clusters 1-4.

Referring to FIG. 23, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that the transmittingwireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter),has multi-user receive capability, in that, it can simultaneouslyreceive transmissions on clusters 1-4, and particularly from STA1, STA2,STA3, and STA4.

Referring to FIG. 24, this diagram shows an embodiment that allows theuse of clusters 1-4 together. For example, cluster 3 and 4 need to waitfor a period of time after the cluster reservations is made because ofthe unavailability of cluster 2 (being busy) using a CTS2SELF by STA0 onthat cluster. By the CTS2SELF by STA0 on cluster 2, the cluster 2 isthen unavailable for a period of time as set by the CTS2SELF, and theCTS2SELF reserves the clusters 3 and 4 until a period of time at whichit is expected that cluster 2 is available.

Referring to FIG. 25, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that clusters 3 and 4 arein fact employed during the time period of which the cluster 2 isreserved by the CTS2SELF on cluster 2. For example, rather than notemploy the available bandwidth of the clusters 3 and 4 during that time,they are employed for reception by STA2 during and up until thereservation of cluster 2 is completed.

FIG. 26, FIG. 27, and FIG. 28 are diagrams illustrating embodiments ofrequest to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS) exchanges between atransmitting wireless communication device (e.g., an AP), being operablein accordance with OFDMA/SU-MIMO, and various wireless communicationdevices corresponding to various capabilities.

Referring to FIG. 26, this diagram shows an RTS being provided to allSTA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4 on all clusters 1-4. Each of the STAs 1-4respectively transmit a CTS on a respective cluster (e.g., STA1 oncluster 1, STA3 on cluster 3, STA2 on cluster 2, and STA4 on cluster 4).After completion of the RTS/CTS exchanges, a MU-MIMO/OFDMA datatransmission is sent from the transmitting wireless communicationdevice, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter) to the various STAs1-4. STA1 receives on cluster 1 and transmits on cluster 1. STA1receives on cluster 1 and transmits on cluster 1. STA2 receives oncluster 2 and transmits on clusters 1-4. STA3 receives on cluster 3 andtransmits on clusters 1-4. STA4 receives on cluster 4 and transmits onclusters 3-4.

Referring to FIG. 27, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that the CTSs from thevarious STAs 1-4 are provided simultaneously to the transmittingwireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter)on the clusters 1-4, respectively. After completion of the RTS/CTSexchanges, a MU-MIMO/OFDMA data transmission is sent from thetransmitting wireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) to the various STAs 1-4. Also, there are other differencesbetween this embodiment and the previous embodiment. STA1 receives oncluster 1 and transmits on cluster 1. STA1 receives on cluster 1 andtransmits on cluster 1. STA2 receives on cluster 2 and transmits oncluster 3. STA3 receives on cluster 3 and transmits on cluster 2. STA4receives on cluster 4 and transmits on cluster 4.

Referring to FIG. 28, this diagram also shows an RTS being provided toall STA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4 on all clusters 1-4. In this diagram,STA2 is selected as being the one that sends the CTS back to thetransmitting wireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) on the cluster 1. After completion of the RTS/CTSexchanges, a MU-MIMO/OFDMA data transmission is sent from thetransmitting wireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) to the various STAs 1-4. Each of the STAs 1-4 respectivelytransmit an ACK or BACK on a respective cluster (e.g., STA1 on cluster1, STA3 on cluster 3, STA2 on cluster 2, and STA4 on cluster 4).

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of RTS/CTS exchangesbetween a transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., an AP),being operable in accordance with OFDMA/MU-MIMO, and various wirelesscommunication devices corresponding to various capabilities. Thisdiagram also shows an RTS being provided to all STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4,and STA 5 on all clusters 1-4. In this diagram, STA3 is selected asbeing the one that sends the CTS back to the transmitting wirelesscommunication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter) on theclusters 1-4. After completion of the RTS/CTS exchanges, a MU-MIMO/OFDMAdata transmission is sent from the transmitting wireless communicationdevice, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter) to the various STAs1-5; STA3 and STA5 both receive on cluster 3 (e.g., with MU-MIMOseparation). STA1 receives and transmits on cluster 1. STA3 and STA5both receive and transmit on cluster 3. STA2 receives and transmits oncluster 2. STA4 receives on cluster 4 and transmits on clusters 1-4.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of RTS/CTS exchangesbetween a transmitting wireless communication device (e.g., an AP),being operable in accordance with OFDMA/MU-MIMO and including 3 parallelfront ends, and various wireless communication devices corresponding tovarious capabilities.

This diagram also shows an RTS being provided to all STA1, STA2, STA3,STA4, and STA 5 on all clusters 1-4. In this diagram, STA2 is selectedas being the one that sends the CTS back to the transmitting wirelesscommunication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter) on thecluster 1. After completion of the RTS/CTS exchanges, a MU-MIMO/OFDMAdata transmission is sent from the transmitting wireless communicationdevice, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter) to the various STAs1-5; STA3 and STA5 both receive on cluster 3 (e.g., with MU-MIMOseparation). STA1 receives and transmits on cluster 1. STA3 and STA5both receive on cluster 3; STA3 transmits on cluster 3, and STA5transmits on clusters 1-3. STA2 receives and transmits on cluster 2.STA4 receives on cluster 4 and transmits on cluster 4.

As can be seen with respect to many of the embodiments presented hereinthat effectuate RTS/CTS exchanges between a transmitting wirelesscommunication device (e.g., an AP), being operable in accordance withOFDMA/MU-MIMO, and various wireless communication devices, such RTS/CTSexchanges include cluster 1 (primary cluster) in a preferred embodimentto ensure that any wireless communication devices that operate inaccordance with a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) asdescribed herein will be able to detect such RTS/CTS exchanges. Whensuch wireless communication devices can detect such RTS/CTS exchanges,it may be ensured that such wireless communication devices can obey theNAV.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of NAV driven clusterreservation. As can be seen in this diagram, respective NAVs are set oneach of clusters 1, 2, and 3 (e.g., by STA0, the transmitting wirelesscommunication device). The NAV is not set on cluster 4, and as such, thetransmitting wireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) is able to begin reserving the idle cluster 4 a period oftime (e.g., T₁) before all of the required clusters become available.STA1 is a legacy, for example, TGn and/or TGa wireless communicationdevice operating in Greenfield mode, and the STA2 receives on clusters1-4, and also transmits on cluster 2. STA1 receives and transmits on thecluster 1.

Various embodiments described below are variations of performing timedivision for medium access in accordance with aspects of case 3 asdescribed elsewhere herein. Such a communication system can includewireless communication devices having each of a first capability and asecond capability (and/or third capability, etc.). These wirelesscommunication devices are granted medium access in accordance with anycombination of the case 1 and case 2 described herein. For example, theair time or medium access may be divided into a mixed device intervaland one or more other intervals operable respectively for only thosewireless communication devices having a first capability (e.g., legacy,TGn and/or TGa) and for only those wireless communication devices havinga second capability (e.g., TGac).

For example, a first interval may be for operation in accordance withmixed mode operation such that wireless communication devices havingboth a first capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) and a secondcapability (e.g., TGac) (and/or additional capabilities) may beconcurrently operational. A second interval may be for operation inaccordance with only those wireless communication devices having a firstcapability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa) or only those wirelesscommunication devices having a second capability (e.g., TGac), and/orone other type of capability.

Alternatively, a first interval may be for operation in accordance withmixed mode operation such that wireless communication devices havingboth a first, second, and/or third, etc. capability (e.g., firstcapability: legacy, TGn and/or TGa; second capability: TGac, etc.) maybe concurrently operational. A second interval may be for operation inaccordance with only those wireless communication devices having thefirst capability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa), and a third intervalmay be for operation in accordance with only those wirelesscommunication devices having the second capability (e.g., TGac).

FIG. 32, FIG. 33, and FIG. 34 are diagrams illustrating embodiments ofcombination of time division of medium access for various wirelesscommunication devices corresponding to various capabilities andincluding simultaneous supporting medium access to wirelesscommunication devices of at least two different capabilities.

Referring to FIG. 32, in this diagram, T_(mixed1) and T_(mixed2) are thetime intervals or durations for operating wireless communication devicesthat operate in accordance with both a first capability (e.g., legacy,TGn and/or TGa) and a second capability (e.g., TGac). The time intervalsor durations T_(ac1) and T_(ac2) are for operating wirelesscommunication devices that only operate in accordance with the secondcapability (e.g., TGac). It is of course noted that this embodiment isexemplary, and time duration or intervals within different periods canbe in any order, of any desired length, etc.

Referring to FIG. 33, in this diagram, T_(mixed1) and T_(mixed2) are thetime intervals or durations for operating wireless communication devicesthat operate in accordance with both a first capability (e.g., legacy,TGn and/or TGa) and a second capability (e.g., TGac). The time intervalsor durations T_(legacy1) and T_(legacy2) are for operating wirelesscommunication devices that only operate in accordance with the firstcapability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa). It is of course noted thatthis embodiment is exemplary, and time duration or intervals withindifferent periods can be in any order, of any desired length, etc.

Referring to FIG. 34, in this diagram, T_(mixed1) and T_(mixed2) are thetime intervals or durations for operating wireless communication devicesthat operate in accordance with both a first capability (e.g., legacy,TGn and/or TGa) and a second capability (e.g., TGac). The time intervalsor durations T_(legacy1) and T_(legacy2) are for operating wirelesscommunication devices that only operate in accordance with the firstcapability (e.g., legacy, TGn and/or TGa). The time intervals ordurations T_(ac1) and T_(ac2) are for operating wireless communicationdevices that only operate in accordance with the second capability(e.g., TGac).

As with respect to other embodiments, a great degree of flexibility isprovided in which any of the period durations, the order of intervalswithin respective periods, the duration of respective intervals withinrespective periods, etc. may be modified as desired in variousapplications. For example, while each of the FIG. 31, FIG. 32, and FIG.33 are exemplary, the order of the respective time durations orintervals (e.g., T_(mixed1), T_(mixed2), etc., T_(legacy1), T_(legacy2),etc., T_(ac1), T_(ac2), etc.) can be in any desired order, the durationsof the respective time durations or intervals need not be the same, etc.

FIG. 35, FIG. 36, FIG. 37, and FIG. 38 are diagrams illustratingembodiments of NAV driven cluster reservation in instances where thevarious wireless communication devices all have newer/updatedcapabilities (e.g., TGac).

Referring to FIG. 35, this diagram shows two wireless communicationdevices operating therein, a transmitting wireless communication device,STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter or AP) and a receiving wirelesscommunication device (STA1). As can be seen in this diagram, respectiveNAVs are set on each of clusters 1-3 (by STA0, the transmitting wirelesscommunication device). The NAV is not set on cluster 4, and as such, thetransmitting wireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., a MU-MIMO/OFDMAtransmitter) is able to begin reserving the idle cluster 4 a period oftime (e.g., T₁) before all of the required clusters become available.STA1 receives and transmits on clusters 1-4. This embodiment may beviewed as operating in accordance with either case 1 or case 3 asdescribed elsewhere herein.

Referring to FIG. 36, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that STA1 and STA2 eachreceive on clusters 1-4, STA3 receives on clusters 3-4. Also, STA1transmits on clusters 1-4, STA3 transmits on clusters 3-4, and STA2transmits on clusters 1-4.

Referring to FIG. 37, this diagram is somewhat similar to the previousembodiment with at least one difference being that each of STA1, STA1,and STA3 all receive on clusters 1-4.

Referring to FIG. 38, in this diagram, each of STA1, STA1, and STA3receive on clusters 1-4. STA1 transmits on clusters 1-4, STA2 transmitson cluster 2, and STA3 transmits on clusters 3-4.

Various methods are presented below by which one or more wirelesscommunication devices may operate in accordance with various aspects ofthe invention. In certain of the embodiments, a respective method may beperformed by a transmitting wireless communication device, STA0 (e.g., aMU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter, an AP, etc.) In other embodiments, arespective method may be performed by receiving wireless communicationdevice (e.g., a STA). In even other embodiments, a respective method isperformed by multiple wireless communication devices within acommunication system (e.g., MU-MIMO/OFDMA transmitter or AP inconjunction with one or more STAs).

FIG. 39A, FIG. 39B, FIG. 40A, FIG. 40B, FIG. 41A, FIG. 41B, and FIG. 42are diagrams illustrating various embodiments of methods for operatingone or more wireless communication devices.

Referring to method 3900 of FIG. 39A, the method 3900 begins bycoordinating operation and medium access of a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices having at least two different capabilities (e.g.,2+ capability sets—e.g., TGn and/or TGa, TGac, etc.), as shown in ablock 3910. During a first time period, the method 3900 continues byallocating medium access to one or more (1+) wireless communicationdevices having a first capability, as shown in a block 3920. During asecond time period, the method 3900 then operates by allocating mediumaccess to 1+ wireless communication devices having a second capability,as shown in a block 3930. In some instances, there may be more thanwireless communication devices having more than two different types ofcapabilities, and the method 3900 may continue in such instances byallocating medium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having ann^(th) capability during an n^(th) time period, as shown in a block3940.

Referring to method 3901 of FIG. 39B, the method 3901 begins bycoordinating operation and medium access of a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices having at least two different capabilities (e.g.,2+ capability sets—e.g., TGn and/or TGa, TGac, etc.), as shown in ablock 3911. During a first time period, the method 3901 then operates byallocating medium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having afirst capability and 1+ wireless communication devices having a secondcapability for operating only in accordance with first capability (e.g.,all operative wireless communication devices operating only inaccordance with first capability), as shown in a block 3921.

During a second time period, the method 3901 continues by allocatingmedium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having the secondcapability, as shown in a block 3931.

As within other embodiments, in some instances, there may be more thanwireless communication devices having more than two different types ofcapabilities, and the method 3901 may continue in such instances byallocating medium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having ann^(th) capability during an n^(th) time period, as shown in a block3941.

Referring to method 4000 of FIG. 40A, the method 4000 begins bycoordinating operation and medium access of a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices having at least two different capabilities (e.g.,2+ capability sets—e.g., TGn and/or TGa, TGac (MU-MIMO, OFDMA, etc.),etc.), as shown in a block 4010. During a first time period, the method4000 continues by allocating medium access to 1+ wireless communicationdevices having legacy (e.g., TGn and/or TGa) capability, as shown in ablock 4020. During a second time period, the method 4000 then operatesby allocating medium access to 1+ wireless communication devices havingOFDMA capability, as shown in a block 4030.

During a third time period, the method 4000 continues by allocatingmedium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having MU-MIMOcapability, as shown in a block 4040. During a fourth time period, themethod 4000 continues by allocating medium access to 1+ wirelesscommunication devices having OFDMA and MU-MIMO capability, as shown in ablock 4050.

Referring to method 4001 of FIG. 40B, the method 4001 begins bycoordinating operation and medium access of a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices having at least two different capabilities (e.g.,2+ capability sets—e.g., TGn and/or TGa, TGac, etc.), as shown in ablock 4011.

During a first time period, the method 4001 then operates by allocatingmedium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having a firstcapability (e.g., TGn and/or TGa), as shown in a block 4021.

After completion of the first time period, the method 4001 continues byremoving the 1+ wireless communication devices having the firstcapability (e.g., TGn and/or TGa) from medium access, as shown in ablock 4031. In certain embodiments, the method 4001 performs theoperation of the block 4031 by employing contention free, scheduledaccess, and/or quiet period (e.g., multi-user super-frame (MU-SF)) forgranting medium access to 1+ wireless communication devices having asecond capability (e.g., TGac), as shown in a block 4033. In otherembodiments, the method 4001 performs the operation of the block 4031 byemploying RTS/CTS, scheduled CTS, and/or CTS2SELF for granting mediumaccess to 1+ wireless communication devices having a second capability(e.g., TGac), as shown in a block 4035.

In even other embodiments, the method 4001 performs the operations ofthe block 4031 by performing some combination of the operations shown inthe blocks 4033 and 4035, as shown in a block 4037.

Referring to method 4100 of FIG. 41A, the method 4100 begins bycoordinating operation and medium access of a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices having at least two different capabilities (e.g.,2+ capability sets—e.g., TGn and/or TGa, TGac, etc.), as shown in ablock 4110.

In some instances, the method 4100 proceeds directly from the block 4110to the block 4120. Alternatively, in other embodiments, operations ofthe blocks 4112 and/or 4114 are performed after performing the operationof the block 4110 and before proceeding to the block 4120. For example,in some instances, the method 4100 continues by determining respectivetraffic of wireless communication devices having a first capability, asecond capability, etc., as shown in a block 4112.

In certain other instances, the method 4100 continues by determiningrespective numbers of wireless communication devices having a firstcapability, a second capability, etc., as shown in a block 4114.

The method 4100 continues by assigning 1+ primary clusters (e.g., lowercluster) for use by 1+ wireless communication devices having the firstcapability, as shown in a block 4120. In some instances, the operationsof the block 4120 are made as a function of number, traffic, etc. of 1+wireless communication devices having the first capability, as shown ina block 4122.

The method 4100 then operates by assigning 1+ non-primary clusters foruse by 1+ wireless communication device having the second capability, asshown in a block 4130. In some instances, the operations of the block4130 are made as a function of number, traffic, etc. of 1+ wirelesscommunication devices having the second capability, as shown in a block4132.

Referring to method 4101 of FIG. 41B, the method 4101 begins bycoordinating operation and medium access of a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices having at least two different capabilities (e.g.,2+ capability sets—e.g., TGn and/or TGa, TGac, etc.), as shown in ablock 4111.

During a time period in which medium access being allocated to 1+wireless communication devices having a particular capability (e.g.,TGac), the method 4101 then operates by scheduling medium access thereto(e.g., scheduling medium access for the 1+ wireless communicationdevices having that capability (e.g., TGac)), as shown in a block 4121.

The method 4101 continues by performing cluster reservation using atleast one of beacons, CTS2SELF, RTS/CTS, etc., as shown in a block 4131.If at least M clusters are determined as being available, as shown in adecision block 4141, then method 4101 then operates by transmitting onthe M+ available clusters, as shown in a block 4151.

Alternatively, if fewer than M clusters are determined as beingavailable (e.g., an insufficient number of clusters are available), asshown in a decision block 4141, then method 4101 then continues tomonitor until at least M clusters are determined as being available.

Referring to method 4200 of FIG. 42, within a receiving wirelesscommunication device, the method 4200 begins by analyzing NAVinformation on busy clusters (e.g., determining if M channels will beavailable in a particular period of time, such as T₁, which may bepredetermined, adaptively set, etc.), as shown in a block 4210. In someinstances, the values of T₁ and/or M determined by OFDMA and/or MU-MIMOtransmitting wireless communication device, as shown in a block 4212.

If fewer than M clusters are determined as being available (e.g., aninsufficient number of clusters are available) within the time periodT₁, as shown in a decision block 4220, then method 4200 then continuesto monitor until at least M clusters are determined as being available.

Alternatively, if at least M clusters are determined as being availablewithin the time period T₁, as shown in a decision block 4220, thenmethod 4200 then operates by beginning to reserve currently idleclusters, as shown in a block 4230.

The method 4200 continues by monitoring if additional clusters becomeavailable as a function of time (e.g., as more time elapses). Ifadditional clusters are determined as not becoming available (e.g.,which, in certain embodiments, may be determined as being within asecond period of time, T₂, or the same period of time as employedpreviously, T₁), as shown in a decision block 4240, then method 4200then continues to monitor if additional clusters are becoming (e.g.,expected to become after some period of time) or have become available.Alternatively, if at least M clusters are determined as being availablewithin the time period T₁, as shown in a decision block 4220, thenmethod 4200 then operates by beginning to reserve additional clustersthat have become available, as shown in a block 4250.

It is noted that, while various and multiple embodiments of methods forperforming operations in accordance with various aspects of theinvention have been presented for effectuating coordination and mediumaccess among various wireless communication devices, such as in a mixedmode environment, these specific examples and embodiments are notexhaustive, and the principles described herein may be adapted toaccommodate any desired configuration and manner of performing operationin accordance with such a mixed mode environment in accordance with anumber of selectable principles (e.g., time division of medium access,scheduled access for newer capable [e.g., TGac] wireless communicationdevices, etc.).

Any of the functionality and/or methods described herein may beimplemented and/or performed within a wireless communication device thatincludes, among other elements/components, a baseband processing moduleand one or more antennae (multiple antennae in a preferred embodiment).Such a baseband processing module (e.g., such as in accordance with FIG.2), may be implemented for generating a plurality of control signalscorresponding to medium access of a number of wireless communicationdevices. These wireless communication devices can include a firstwireless communication device having a first capability and a secondwireless communication device having a second capability. Eachrespective wireless communication device can operate in accordance withat least one respective operational mode (e.g., a first wirelesscommunication device can operate in accordance with a first operationalmode, a second wireless communication device can operate in accordancewith a second operational mode, etc.). The control signals generated bythe baseband processing module are operative to direct the manner ofmedium access among the various wireless communication devices. Suchcontrol signals are transmitted to the various wireless communicationdevices via the antenna or antennae.

One exemplary operational mode includes a first operational mode thateffectuates medium access in accordance with time division between thefirst wireless communication device and the second wirelesscommunication device. Another exemplary operational mode includesassigning at least one primary cluster for use by the first wirelesscommunication device and assigning at least one non-primary cluster foruse by the second wireless communication device for supportingsimultaneous operation of the first wireless communication device andthe second wireless communication device. Yet another exemplaryoperational mode includes effectuating time dividing medium accessbetween simultaneous operation of both the first wireless communicationdevice and the second wireless communication device and operation ofonly either the first wireless communication device or the secondwireless communication device.

It is noted that the various modules and/or circuitries (e.g., basebandprocessing modules, encoding modules and/or circuitries, decodingmodules and/or circuitries, etc., etc.) described herein may be a singleprocessing device or a plurality of processing devices. Such aprocessing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on operationalinstructions. The operational instructions may be stored in a memory.The memory may be a single memory device or a plurality of memorydevices. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory (ROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, and/or any device that storesdigital information. It is also noted that when the processing moduleimplements one or more of its functions via a state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory storingthe corresponding operational instructions is embedded with thecircuitry comprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, and/or logic circuitry. In such an embodiment, a memorystores, and a processing module coupled thereto executes, operationalinstructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and/orfunctions illustrated and/or described herein.

It is also noted that any of the connections or couplings between thevarious modules, circuits, functional blocks, components, devices, etc.within any of the various diagrams or as described herein may bedifferently implemented in different embodiments. For example, in oneembodiment, such connections or couplings may be direct connections ordirect couplings there between. In another embodiment, such connectionsor couplings may be indirect connections or indirect couplings therebetween (e.g., with one or more intervening components there between).Of course, certain other embodiments may have some combinations of suchconnections or couplings therein such that some of the connections orcouplings are direct, while others are indirect. Differentimplementations may be employed for effectuating communicative couplingbetween modules, circuits, functional blocks, components, devices, etc.without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the term“substantially” or “approximately”, as may be used herein, provides anindustry-accepted tolerance to its corresponding term. Such anindustry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent to twentypercent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, component values,integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, rise andfall times, and/or thermal noise. As one of average skill in the artwill further appreciate, the term “operably coupled”, as may be usedherein, includes direct coupling and indirect coupling via anothercomponent, element, circuit, or module where, for indirect coupling, theintervening component, element, circuit, or module does not modify theinformation of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level,and/or power level. As one of average skill in the art will alsoappreciate, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled toanother element by inference) includes direct and indirect couplingbetween two elements in the same manner as “operably coupled”. As one ofaverage skill in the art will further appreciate, the term “comparesfavorably”, as may be used herein, indicates that a comparison betweentwo or more elements, items, signals, etc., provides a desiredrelationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may beachieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

Various aspects of the present invention have also been described abovewith the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specifiedfunctions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence ofthese functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarilydefined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries andsequences can be defined so long as the specified functions andrelationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundariesor sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimedinvention.

Various aspects of the present invention have been described above withthe aid of functional building blocks illustrating the performance ofcertain significant functions. The boundaries of these functionalbuilding blocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience ofdescription. Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as thecertain significant functions are appropriately performed. Similarly,flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily defined herein toillustrate certain significant functionality. To the extent used, theflow diagram block boundaries and sequence could have been definedotherwise and still perform the certain significant functionality. Suchalternate definitions of both functional building blocks and flowdiagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of theclaimed invention.

One of average skill in the art will also recognize that the functionalbuilding blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules and componentsherein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discrete components,application specific integrated circuits, processors executingappropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

Moreover, although described in detail for purposes of clarity andunderstanding by way of the aforementioned embodiments, various aspectsof the present invention are not limited to such embodiments. It will beobvious to one of average skill in the art that various changes andmodifications may be practiced within the spirit and scope of theinvention, as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Mode Selection Tables:

TABLE 1 2.4 GHz, 20/22 MHz channel BW, 54 Mbps max bit rate Code RateModulation Rate NBPSC NCBPS NDBPS EVM Sensitivity ACR AACR Barker 1 BPSKBarker 2 QPSK 5.5 CCK 6 BPSK 0.5 1 48 24 −5 −82 16 32 9 BPSK 0.75 1 4836 −8 −81 15 31 11 CCK 12 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 −10 −79 13 29 18 QPSK 0.75 296 72 −13 −77 11 27 24 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 −16 −74 8 24 36 16-QAM 0.75 4192 144 −19 −70 4 20 48 64-QAM 0.666 6 288 192 −22 −66 0 16 54 64-QAM0.75 6 288 216 −25 −65 −1 15

TABLE 2 Channelization for Table 1 Frequency Channel (MHz) 1 2412 2 24173 2422 4 2427 5 2432 6 2437 7 2442 8 2447 9 2452 10 2457 11 2462 12 2467

TABLE 3 Power Spectral Density (PSD) Mask for Table 1 PSD Mask 1Frequency Offset dBr −9 MHz to 9 MHz 0 +/−11 MHz −20 +/−20 MHz −28 +/−30MHz and −50 greater

TABLE 4 5 GHz, 20 MHz channel BW, 54 Mbps max bit rate Code RateModulation Rate NBPSC NCBPS NDBPS EVM Sensitivity ACR AACR 6 BPSK 0.5 148 24 −5 −82 16 32 9 BPSK 0.75 1 48 36 −8 −81 15 31 12 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48−10 −79 13 29 18 QPSK 0.75 2 96 72 −13 −77 11 27 24 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96−16 −74 8 24 36 16-QAM 0.75 4 192 144 −19 −70 4 20 48 64-QAM 0.666 6 288192 −22 −66 0 16 54 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216 −25 −65 −1 15

TABLE 5 Channelization for Table 4 Frequency Frequency Channel (MHz)Country Channel (MHz) Country 240 4920 Japan 244 4940 Japan 248 4960Japan 252 4980 Japan 8 5040 Japan 12 5060 Japan 16 5080 Japan 36 5180USA/Europe 34 5170 Japan 40 5200 USA/Europe 38 5190 Japan 44 5220USA/Europe 42 5210 Japan 48 5240 USA/Europe 46 5230 Japan 52 5260USA/Europe 56 5280 USA/Europe 60 5300 USA/Europe 64 5320 USA/Europe 1005500 USA/Europe 104 5520 USA/Europe 108 5540 USA/Europe 112 5560USA/Europe 116 5580 USA/Europe 120 5600 USA/Europe 124 5620 USA/Europe128 5640 USA/Europe 132 5660 USA/Europe 136 5680 USA/Europe 140 5700USA/Europe 149 5745 USA 153 5765 USA 157 5785 USA 161 5805 USA 165 5825USA

TABLE 6 2.4 GHz, 20 MHz channel BW, 192 Mbps max bit rate ST TX CodeModu- Code Rate Antennas Rate lation Rate NBPSC NCBPS NDBPS 12 2 1 BPSK0.5 1 48 24 24 2 1 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 48 2 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 96 2 164-QAM 0.666 6 288 192 108 2 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216 18 3 1 BPSK 0.5 148 24 36 3 1 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 72 3 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 144 3 1 64-QAM0.666 6 288 192 162 3 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216 24 4 1 BPSK 0.5 1 48 24 484 1 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 96 4 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 192 4 1 64-QAM 0.666 6288 192 216 4 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216

TABLE 7 Channelization for Table 6 Channel Frequency (MHz) 1 2412 2 24173 2422 4 2427 5 2432 6 2437 7 2442 8 2447 9 2452 10 2457 11 2462 12 2467

TABLE 8 5 GHz, 20 MHz channel BW, 192 Mbps max bit rate ST TX Code Modu-Code Rate Antennas Rate lation Rate NBPSC NCBPS NDBPS 12 2 1 BPSK 0.5 148 24 24 2 1 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 48 2 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 96 2 1 64-QAM0.666 6 288 192 108 2 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216 18 3 1 BPSK 0.5 1 48 24 363 1 QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 72 3 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 144 3 1 64-QAM 0.666 6288 192 162 3 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216 24 4 1 BPSK 0.5 1 48 24 48 4 1QPSK 0.5 2 96 48 96 4 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 192 96 192 4 1 64-QAM 0.666 6 288192 216 4 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 288 216

TABLE 9 channelization for Table 8 Frequency Frequency Channel (MHz)Country Channel (MHz) Country 240 4920 Japan 244 4940 Japan 248 4960Japan 252 4980 Japan 8 5040 Japan 12 5060 Japan 16 5080 Japan 36 5180USA/Europe 34 5170 Japan 40 5200 USA/Europe 38 5190 Japan 44 5220USA/Europe 42 5210 Japan 48 5240 USA/Europe 46 5230 Japan 52 5260USA/Europe 56 5280 USA/Europe 60 5300 USA/Europe 64 5320 USA/Europe 1005500 USA/Europe 104 5520 USA/Europe 108 5540 USA/Europe 112 5560USA/Europe 116 5580 USA/Europe 120 5600 USA/Europe 124 5620 USA/Europe128 5640 USA/Europe 132 5660 USA/Europe 136 5680 USA/Europe 140 5700USA/Europe 149 5745 USA 153 5765 USA 157 5785 USA 161 5805 USA 165 5825USA

TABLE 10 5 GHz, with 40 MHz channels and max bit rate of 486 Mbps TX STCode Code Rate Antennas Rate Modulation Rate NBPSC 13.5 Mbps 1 1 BPSK0.5 1 27 Mbps 1 1 QPSK 0.5 2 54 Mbps 1 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 108 Mbps 1 164-QAM 0.666 6 121.5 Mbps 1 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 27 Mbps 2 1 BPSK 0.5 1 54Mbps 2 1 QPSK 0.5 2 108 Mbps 2 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 216 Mbps 2 1 64-QAM 0.6666 243 Mbps 2 1 64-QAM 0.75 6 40.5 Mbps 3 1 BPSK 0.5 1 81 Mbps 3 1 QPSK0.5 2 162 Mbps 3 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 324 Mbps 3 1 64-QAM 0.666 6 365.5 Mbps 31 64-QAM 0.75 6 54 Mbps 4 1 BPSK 0.5 1 108 Mbps 4 1 QPSK 0.5 2 216 Mbps4 1 16-QAM 0.5 4 432 Mbps 4 1 64-QAM 0.666 6 486 Mbps 4 1 64-QAM 0.75 6

TABLE 11 Power Spectral Density (PSD) Mask for Table 10 PSD Mask 2Frequency Offset dBr −19 MHz to 19 MHz 0 +/−21 MHz −20 +/−30 MHz −28+/−40 MHz and −50 greater

TABLE 12 Channelization for Table 10 Frequency Frequency Channel (MHz)Country Channel (MHz) County 242 4930 Japan 250 4970 Japan 12 5060 Japan38 5190 USA/Europe 36 5180 Japan 46 5230 USA/Europe 44 5520 Japan 545270 USA/Europe 62 5310 USA/Europe 102 5510 USA/Europe 110 5550USA/Europe 118 5590 USA/Europe 126 5630 USA/Europe 134 5670 USA/Europe151 5755 USA 159 5795 USA

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless communication device comprising: acommunication interface; and processing circuitry that is coupled to thecommunication interface, wherein at least one of the communicationinterface or the processing circuitry configured to: generate a firstorthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame thatincludes information that specifies a first time period during which afirst other wireless communication device is to transmit firstinformation via a first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of a communicationchannel to the wireless communication device, wherein the first otherwireless communication device has a first capability based on a firstcommunication protocol; transmit the first OFDMA frame to the firstother wireless communication device; receive the first information fromthe first other wireless communication device via the first subset ofOFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel during the first timeperiod specified within the first OFDMA frame; generate a second OFDMAframe that includes information that specifies a second time periodduring which a second other wireless communication device is to transmitsecond information via a second subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of thecommunication channel to the wireless communication device and alsoduring which a third other wireless communication device is to transmitthird information via a third subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of thecommunication channel to the wireless communication device, wherein boththe second other wireless communication device and the third otherwireless communication device have a second capability based on a secondcommunication protocol that is different than the first capability basedon the first communication protocol; transmit the second OFDMA frame tothe second other wireless communication device and the third otherwireless communication device; and receive the second information fromthe second other wireless communication device via the second subset ofOFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel and the thirdinformation from the third other wireless communication device via thethird subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel viaanother OFDMA frame during the second time period specified within thesecond OFDMA frame.
 2. The wireless communication device of claim 1,wherein the at least one of the communication interface or theprocessing circuitry is further configured to: transmit the first OFDMAframe to the first other wireless communication device and also transmitthe second OFDMA frame to the second other wireless communication deviceand the third other wireless communication device via the first subsetof OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel that includes aprimary cluster composed of one or more channels among one or more bandsof the communication channel or via all of the OFDMA sub-carriers of thecommunication channel.
 3. The wireless communication device of claim 1,wherein the at least one of the communication interface or theprocessing circuitry is further configured to: generate a third OFDMAframe that includes information that specifies a third time periodduring which the first other wireless communication device is totransmit fourth information via the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriersof the communication channel to the wireless communication device andalso specifies a fourth time period during which a fourth other wirelesscommunication device is to transmit fifth information via the firstsubset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel to thewireless communication device, wherein the fourth other wirelesscommunication device also has the first capability based on the firstcommunication protocol; transmit the third OFDMA frame to the firstother wireless communication device and the fourth other wirelesscommunication device; receive the fourth information from the firstother wireless communication device via the first subset of OFDMAsub-carriers of the communication channel during the third time periodspecified within the first OFDMA frame; and receive the fifthinformation from the fourth wireless communication device via the firstsubset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel during thefourth time period specified within the first OFDMA frame.
 4. Thewireless communication device of claim 1, wherein at least one of: thefirst information includes a first acknowledgement (ACK) or a firstblock acknowledgement (BA); the second information includes a second ACKor a second BA; or the third information includes a third ACK or a thirdBA.
 5. The wireless communication device of claim 1, wherein the firstcommunication protocol includes a first IEEE 802.11 communicationprotocol, the second communication protocol includes a second IEEE802.11 communication protocol, and the first IEEE 802.11 communicationprotocol is a legacy IEEE 802.11 communication protocol to the secondIEEE 802.11 communication protocol.
 6. The wireless communication deviceof claim 1 further comprising: a cellular telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, or home entertainment equipment.
 7. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 1 further comprising: an access point (AP), wherein atleast one of the first other wireless communication device, the secondother wireless communication device, or the third other wirelesscommunication device includes a wireless station (STA).
 8. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 1 further comprising: a wireless station(STA), wherein at least one of the first other wireless communicationdevice, the second other wireless communication device, or the thirdother wireless communication device includes another STA or an accesspoint (AP).
 9. A wireless communication device comprising: acommunication interface; and processing circuitry that is coupled to thecommunication interface, wherein at least one of the communicationinterface or the processing circuitry configured to: generate a firstorthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame thatincludes information that specifies a first time period during which afirst other wireless communication device is to transmit firstinformation via a first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of a communicationchannel to the wireless communication device and a second time periodduring which a second other wireless communication device is to transmitsecond information via the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of thecommunication channel to the wireless communication device, wherein boththe first other wireless communication device and the second otherwireless communication device have a first capability based on a firstcommunication protocol; transmit the first OFDMA frame to the firstother wireless communication device and the second other wirelesscommunication device via the OFDMA sub-carriers; receive the firstinformation from the first other wireless communication device via thefirst subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel duringthe first time period specified within the first OFDMA frame; receivethe second information from the second other wireless communicationdevice via the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communicationchannel during the second time period specified within the first OFDMAframe; generate a second OFDMA frame that includes information thatspecifies a third time period during which a third other wirelesscommunication device is to transmit third information via a secondsubset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel to thewireless communication device and also during which a fourth otherwireless communication device is to transmit fourth information via athird subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel to thewireless communication device, wherein both the second other wirelesscommunication device and the third other wireless communication devicehave a second capability based on a second communication protocol thatis different than the first capability based on the first communicationprotocol; transmit the second OFDMA frame to the second other wirelesscommunication device and the third other wireless communication devicevia the OFDMA sub-carriers; and receive the third information from thesecond other wireless communication device via the second subset ofOFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel and the fourthinformation from the fourth other wireless communication device via thethird subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel viaanother OFDMA frame during the second time period specified within thesecond OFDMA frame.
 10. The wireless communication device of claim 9,wherein at least one of: the first information includes a firstacknowledgement (ACK) or a first block acknowledgement (BA); the secondinformation includes a second ACK or a second BA; the third informationincludes a third ACK or a third BA; or the fourth information includes afourth ACK or a fourth BA.
 11. The wireless communication device ofclaim 9, wherein the first communication protocol includes a first IEEE802.11 communication protocol, the second communication protocolincludes a second IEEE 802.11 communication protocol, and the first IEEE802.11 communication protocol is a legacy IEEE 802.11 communicationprotocol to the second IEEE 802.11 communication protocol.
 12. Thewireless communication device of claim 9 further comprising: an accesspoint (AP), wherein at least one of the first other wirelesscommunication device, the second other wireless communication device,the third other wireless communication device, or the fourth otherwireless communication device includes a wireless station (STA).
 13. Thewireless communication device of claim 9 further comprising: a wirelessstation (STA), wherein at least one of the first other wirelesscommunication device, the second other wireless communication device,the third other wireless communication device, or the fourth otherwireless communication device includes another STA or an access point(AP).
 14. A method for execution by a wireless communication device, themethod comprising: generating a first orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) frame that includes information that specifies afirst time period during which a first other wireless communicationdevice is to transmit first information via a first subset of OFDMAsub-carriers of a communication channel to the wireless communicationdevice, wherein the first other wireless communication device has afirst capability based on a first communication protocol; transmitting,via a communication interface of the wireless communication device, thefirst OFDMA frame to the first other wireless communication device;receiving, via the communication interface of the wireless communicationdevice, the first information from the first other wirelesscommunication device via the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of thecommunication channel during the first time period specified within thefirst OFDMA frame; generating a second OFDMA frame that includesinformation that specifies a second time period during which a secondother wireless communication device is to transmit second informationvia a second subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channelto the wireless communication device and also during which a third otherwireless communication device is to transmit third information via athird subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel to thewireless communication device, wherein both the second other wirelesscommunication device and the third other wireless communication devicehave a second capability based on a second communication protocol thatis different than the first capability based on the first communicationprotocol; transmitting, via the communication interface of the wirelesscommunication device, the second OFDMA frame to the second otherwireless communication device and the third other wireless communicationdevice; and receiving, via the communication interface of the wirelesscommunication device, the second information from the second otherwireless communication device via the second subset of OFDMAsub-carriers of the communication channel and the third information fromthe third other wireless communication device via the third subset ofOFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel via another OFDMA frameduring the second time period specified within the second OFDMA frame.15. The method of claim 14 further comprising: transmitting, via thecommunication interface of the wireless communication device, the firstOFDMA frame to the first other wireless communication device and alsotransmit the second OFDMA frame to the second other wirelesscommunication device and the third other wireless communication devicevia the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channelthat includes a primary cluster composed of one or more channels amongone or more bands of the communication channel or via all of the OFDMAsub-carriers of the communication channel.
 16. The method of claim 14further comprising: generating a third OFDMA frame that includesinformation that specifies a third time period during which the firstother wireless communication device is to transmit fourth informationvia the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channelto the wireless communication device and also specifies a fourth timeperiod during which a fourth other wireless communication device is totransmit fifth information via the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers ofthe communication channel to the wireless communication device, whereinthe fourth other wireless communication device also has the firstcapability based on the first communication protocol; transmitting, viathe communication interface of the wireless communication device, thethird OFDMA frame to the first other wireless communication device andthe fourth other wireless communication device; receiving, via thecommunication interface of the wireless communication device, the fourthinformation from the first other wireless communication device via thefirst subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communication channel duringthe third time period specified within the first OFDMA frame; andreceiving, via the communication interface of the wireless communicationdevice, the fifth information from the fourth wireless communicationdevice via the first subset of OFDMA sub-carriers of the communicationchannel during the fourth time period specified within the first OFDMAframe.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of: the firstinformation includes a first acknowledgement (ACK) or a first blockacknowledgement (BA); the second information includes a second ACK or asecond BA; or the third information includes a third ACK or a third BA.18. The method of claim 14, wherein the first communication protocolincludes a first IEEE 802.11 communication protocol, the secondcommunication protocol includes a second IEEE 802.11 communicationprotocol, and the first IEEE 802.11 communication protocol is a legacyIEEE 802.11 communication protocol to the second IEEE 802.11communication protocol.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the wirelesscommunication device includes an access point (AP), and at least one ofthe first other wireless communication device, the second other wirelesscommunication device, or the third other wireless communication deviceincludes a wireless station (STA).
 20. The method of claim 14, whereinthe wireless communication device includes a wireless station (STA), andat least one of the first other wireless communication device, thesecond other wireless communication device, or the third other wirelesscommunication device includes another STA or an access point (AP).